Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSSL-61 ex-USS LCS(L)(3)-61 - construction, commissioning, unit assignments, campaign table, awards, redesignation, and scrapping sale (compiled record; specifications sourced to NavShips 250-012 and Lawley class documents) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS LSSL-61 ex-LCS(L)(3)-61 page, specification block and chronology; image captions incl. Willamette River fall 1944, off Okinawa summer 1945, Yokohama fall 1945, San Diego January 1946
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled record for this hull: laid down 15 September 1944 at Albina Engine and Machine Works Inc., Portland, OR; launched 14 October 1944; commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-61, 29 November 1944, LT. James W. Kelley USN in command; assigned LCS(L)(3) Flotilla Four (CDR. N. Phillips USN) / Group Twelve (LCDR. B. D. Voegelin USNR) / Division Twenty-One; campaign Okinawa Gunto (assault and occupation, 16 April - 30 June 1945); occupation service in the Far East 2 September - 3 December 1945; decommissioned, date unknown; redesignated Landing Ship Support, Large USS LSSL-61, 28 February 1949; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; one battle star plus Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Okinawa), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1), WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp; sold for scrapping 1 May 1951 to Condenser Service & Engineering Co., Hoboken, for $9,864. Specifications: 250 t light / 387 t full; 158' o.a.; all-diesel propulsion - 2 quad packs of 4 GM 6051-series-71 diesels per shaft, 1,600 BHP, GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers; armament one single 40-mm bow mount, two twin 40-mm AA mounts, four single 20-mm AA mounts, four .50-cal machine guns, ten Mk 7 rocket launchers; complement 6 officers, 65 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1951
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1944); wartime crew (6 officers / 65 enlisted complement); 1951 scrapper workforce
- Limitations
- NavSource is a compiled photo-archive record, not a contemporaneous primary document; its specifications trace to NavShips 250-012 (Apr 1945) and class documentation. Decommissioning and struck dates are stated as unknown. Unit chain given as Flotilla Four / Group Twelve / Division Twenty-One differs from the 1 May 1945 fleet-organization document (LCS Group 11 under Lt. Cdr. Montgomery) - the ship's-officer memoir mentions both officers, and the divergence is carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-01
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[2]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (online reading room; official wartime fleet organization document republished by the Navy Department Library) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945, LCS Group 11 / LCS Division 21 listing (p. ~87)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official contemporaneous fleet document names this hull: as of 1 May 1945, LCS 61 is listed in LCS DIVISION 21 under LCS GROUP 11 (ComLCSGrp 11: Lt. Cdr. C. E. Montgomery USNR), with commanding officer Lt. J. W. Kelley (21201), alongside LCS 62, 81, 82, 83, and group flagship LCS 84 (GF). Confirms the hull's operational assignment and commanding officer at the height of the Okinawa radar-picket campaign.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Crew of LCS(L)(3)-61 (Lt. J. W. Kelley commanding)
- Limitations
- Administrative organization document - establishes assignment and command, not materials or asbestos content. Lists the hull under LCS Group 11 (Montgomery) where NavSource carries Group Twelve (Voegelin); the ship's-officer memoir references both commanders (Voegelin embarked at Ulithi; Montgomery the 'regular Group Commander'), and the discrepancy is carried in gaps rather than resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-02
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[3]'A Brief History of U.S.S. LCS(L) 61' - firsthand history by Powell Pierpoint, LTjg. USNR, Executive Officer, provided by the National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130 via NavSource [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LCS(L)(3)-61 history page (050061h.htm)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship's-officer history for this hull: crew assembled and trained at Solomons, MD; departed 3 November 1944 for Portland to take up the ship; commissioned 29 November 1944; sailed 12 December for San Diego shakedown; departed San Diego 12 January 1945, arriving Pearl Harbor 21 January; departed 16 February escorting 36 LCTs to Guam with LCS(L)s 81, 82, 83, 23, 25 and four YMSs via Johnston Island, Majuro, Eniwetok (15-21 March), Guam, Ulithi (arrived 3 April; availability alongside USS Mindanao; acquired group commander Lt. Cdr. 'Vogelin' of Group 12, Flotilla 4); sailed 7 April for Kerama Retto, arriving 16 April. Radar picket service off Okinawa: RP Station 2, then RP-1 (first aerial victory night of 28 April - 18 rounds of 40-mm), RP-7 from 1 May (went alongside USS Sangamon after the evening kamikaze hit to put water on fires and read her draft), second victory 10 May (Betty bomber), engine overhaul, RP-15 from 20 May (assisted LCS-121 on 23 May; assisted LCS-52 down an attacker 27 May and survived a Betty's near-miss 20 feet off the starboard bow - third credited kill), Buckner Bay patrol from 1 June (landing party with LC(FF)-786 on 4 June), drydocking for screw repairs, then RP-5. Summary per author: about 40 days on the radar picket line, five enemy aircraft shot down, assistance to Sangamon; ship recommended for the Navy Unit Commendation by Commander Flotilla Four and CO Lt. James W. Kelley recommended for the Silver Star. Departed Okinawa 10 July for Leyte; at Leyte Gulf 15 August; departed 3 September for Tokyo Bay; liberty-party duty in Tokyo Bay assigned to USS South Dakota; on 18 September 1945 embarked Admirals Halsey (Third Fleet) and Spruance (Fifth Fleet) and staffs for transport to HMS King George V - 'flagship for both the Third and Fifth Fleets.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Crew of LCS(L)(3)-61, 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Firsthand narrative by the executive officer with named crew detail - high-value but written for the crew and not an official operational record. Internal divergence from DANFS on the Sangamon attack date (memoir 'evening of 2 May' vs. official 4 May 1945) - DANFS carried; conflict logged in gaps. Awards stated as 'recommended' - NavSource's awards block does not list a Navy Unit Commendation, so the NUC award outcome is unverified. Contains no asbestos or materials information. Hosted on NavSource for the veterans' association.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-03
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[4]NHHC DANFS, 'Sangamon II (CVE-26)' - official ship history [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Sangamon II, Okinawa/4 May 1945 passage
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official account of the event this hull's officer memoir assigns to it: on 4 May 1945 USS Sangamon (CVE-26) sortied from Kerama Retto at 1830; at 1933 a kamikaze dropped a bomb and crashed the center of her flight deck, fires spreading across flight, hangar, and fuel decks with communications lost; 'nearby ships came alongside to assist,' and by 2230 all fires were under control; Sangamon returned to Kerama Retto at 2320 with 11 dead, 25 missing, and 21 seriously wounded. The 61 memoir describes this hull going alongside to put water on the fire under the bridge and reading/reporting the carrier's draft during this same action.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Sangamon casualties (11 dead, 25 missing, 21 seriously wounded); assisting crews incl. this hull's
- Limitations
- DANFS does not name LCS(L)(3)-61 among the assisting ships - event corroboration only; the hull's role rests on the ship's-officer history. DANFS fixes the official date (4 May 1945) against the memoir's '2 May' - official date carried, variant in gaps. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-04
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[5]NHHC DANFS, 'South Dakota II (BB-57), Chapter 3: 1945-1969' - official ship history [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS South Dakota II chapter 3, Tokyo Bay occupation passages
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official account corroborates the setting of this hull's 18 September 1945 flagship episode: Halsey directed the naval phase of the occupation of the Japanese home islands while aboard flagship South Dakota in Tokyo Bay and did not haul down his flag until 0634 on 20 September 1945; Admiral Rawlings' British Pacific Fleet TF 37, including HMS King George V, operated alongside Third/Fifth Fleet units in the Tokyo Bay period. The 61 memoir records this hull assigned to South Dakota for liberty-party duty and carrying Admirals Halsey and Spruance to HMS King George V on 18 September 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Fleet flagship staffs; crew of LCS(L)(3)-61
- Limitations
- DANFS does not name LCS(L)(3)-61 or describe the 18 September boat trip - it corroborates Halsey's presence on South Dakota and King George V's presence in the operating area only. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-05
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[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications for this hull (all-diesel plant: 2 quad packs of 4 GM 6051-series-71 diesels per shaft, 1,600 BHP, twin variable-pitch propellers; NavShips 250-012, Apr 1945) and the NavSource LCS(L) class index/sister-hull pages (130 hulls; builders Lawley, Commercial Iron Works, Albina; February 1949 LSSL reclassification of retained hulls); WWII-era shipbuilding asbestos-use literature and the Albina yard litigation record (ev-07); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy-wide asbestos insulation documentation (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block (NavShips 250-012 sourcing); Albina litigation record; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1944 amphibious fire-support craft built in a wartime Portland contract yard sits inside the documented era of shipboard asbestos use. Because the plant is all-diesel with no boilers or steam propulsion, the era-typical boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply; era-standard asbestos applications aboard a small combatant of this type and period were diesel-exhaust and muffler lagging, machinery insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and joiner/fireproofing materials in the compact hull. The hull was sold for scrapping 1 May 1951, before the Navy's documented asbestos-substitution and removal programs, so no abatement-era work on this hull is expected or located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1951
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1944); wartime crew; Portland-area and forward-area repair trades (Ulithi/Kerama Retto availabilities); 1951 scrapper workforce
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or builder specification located for LCS(L)(3)-61. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The Lawley 'Instructions for LCS(L)(3) Class' cited by NavSource was not retrieved; if digitized it would be the next-grade source for class materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-06
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[7]Albina Engine & Machine v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, 627 F.3d 1293 (9th Cir. 2010), No. 09-70592 (LHWCA death-benefits review; also DOL Benefits Review Board decisions 04-0887 and 08-0403 in the same matter) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener opinion 180868; 627 F.3d 1293 (9th Cir., filed 10 Dec 2010), stipulation recital and holding
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal appellate opinion documents stipulated asbestos exposure at this hull's builder: James R. McAllister worked as a shipyard carpenter in Portland - at Willamette Iron & Steel and then Albina Engine and Machine in 1956 - and died in 2002 of mesothelioma; 'all parties stipulated ... that his death was due to mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos' during shipyard employment, with Albina among the responsible employers litigated. The opinion resolves which employer bears LHWCA liability (assigned to Lockheed on last-employer analysis).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1956-1960 (exposure); 2002-2010 (litigation)
- Population
- Portland shipyard trades incl. Albina Engine and Machine workers (1950s exposure window litigated)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not a hull record: the exposure window (1956-60) postdates this vessel's 1944 construction; the opinion establishes asbestos conditions at the builder's postwar yard, not aboard this or any hull, and decides employer liability allocation only. Does not establish materials aboard this vessel, individual crew exposure, or any legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-07
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[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 highlights
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's use of asbestos in ships and its efforts to protect workers at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards; per the published highlights, the Navy's 1975 policy removed and replaced with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - documenting Navy-wide shipboard asbestos insulation spanning this hull's 1944 construction and 1944-1951 service era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull - which was scrapped 1951, decades before these policies. Full-text PDF not retrieved this session (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to plain automated fetch); content taken from the GAO product page highlights via Firecrawl.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-08
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[9]NARA catalog records aggregated by the Digital Public Library of America - 11 item-level records for this hull held by National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference: monthly war diaries May-September 1945; AA action-report forms for 26 & 28 April, 9 May, and 23-28 May 1945; report of operations in the occupation of the Okinawa Gunto 1-31 May 1945; and muster rolls [other_primary]
- Locator
- DPLA aggregation of NARA catalog, 11 items under 'LCS(L)(3)-61'; representative catalog ids 140060362, 101706595, 101766405, 83557273, 77517291, 139983534, 140002753, 101760727, 77802174, 120306071
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Item-level NARA holdings verified for this hull (catalog IDs resolve): war diaries for 1-31 May (id 140060362), 1-30 June (id 101706595), 1-31 July (id 101766405), 1-31 August (id 83557273), and 1-30 September 1945 (id 77517291); AA action reports west/southwest of Okinawa dated 26-28 April (id 139983534), 9 May (id 140002753), and 23-28 May 1945; report of operations in the occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1-31 May 1945 (ids 101760727, 77802174); muster rolls (id 120306071). These are the contemporaneous operational records behind the officer-history narrative and the likeliest primary documentation of movements, availabilities, and damage-control evolutions for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945 (records)
- Population
- Crew of LCS(L)(3)-61, 1945
- Limitations
- Catalog-level verification - each record's catalog.archives.gov page resolves (HTTP 200) but whether scans are attached item-by-item was not verified this session. War diaries and action reports document operations and would not ordinarily record insulating materials; they do not by themselves establish asbestos content. An April 1945 monthly war diary for this hull (cited in Rielly's published bibliography) does not appear in the DPLA set - coverage may be incomplete.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-09
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[10]Batch-5734 search ledger (this record): NavSource vessel + history pages; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945; NHHC DANFS Sangamon II and South Dakota II ch. 3; CourtListener API v4 (opinion + docket); NVR detail-page check; NARA catalog via DPLA aggregation (11 items); NHHC photo-collection check; secondary web sweep incl. navypedia and kamikazeimages [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LCS(L)(3)-61 / LSSL-61 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion searches for all hull-designation variants and for asbestos + 'landing craft support' returned zero hits; the docket-index search returned 5 results, all verified name collisions (trademark, habeas, terror-financing, and Clean Water Act dockets with OCR-noise matches) - not qualifying asbestos litigation. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no asbestos content for this hull beyond non-citable class-history literature.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era construction practice at a wartime contract yard is consistent with era-standard materials, and no survey was ever published. The hull's 1951 scrapping predates disclosure regimes; NARA war diaries/action reports and any builder or scrapping-contract material records remain undigitized-to-partially-indexed leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-61-lcsl361-10