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-88 ex USS LCS(L)(3)-88 (1944-1949) - construction milestones, flotilla assignment, campaign table, awards, commanding officers, specification block, disposition [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050088.htm header block, campaign table, awards block, commanding-officers table, specifications block, disposition lines
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 13 November 1944 at Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR; launched 3 December 1944; commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-88, 22 December 1944, Lt. C. L. Bigos USNR in command. Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LCS(L)(3) Flotilla Four (Cdr. N. Phillips USN), Group Twelve (LCdr. B. D. Voegelin USNR), Division Twenty-Two; Okinawa Gunto operation, assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 17 April - 14 June 1945. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Okinawa 11 May 1945); American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1); World War II Victory Medal; individual awards 11 May 1945 - 9 KIA including commanding officer Lt. C. L. Bigos and 7 WIA. Decommissioned, date unknown; redesignated USS LSSL-88, 28 February 1949; transferred (loaned) to Japan 30 April 1953, named Ajisai; returned to US Navy custody 1964; transferred to Philippines 17 November 1975 for spare parts, never commissioned; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; one battle star for WWII service. Spec block (sourced to Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels, Navships 250-012, 15 April 1945): 250 t light / 387 t full; 158 ft o.a.; beam 23'8"; draft 5'8" limiting; complement 6 officers + 65 enlisted; propulsion 2 quad packs of 4 GM series-71 diesels per shaft, 1,600 bhp, GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2 x 60 kW 450V AC diesel-driven generators; armament 1 x 40mm bow, 2 twin 40mm AA, 4 x 20mm AA, 4 x .50 cal MG, 10 Mk7 rocket launchers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (Nov-Dec 1944); crew 22 Dec 1944 - Mar 1946; JMSDF crew as Ajisai (1953-1964)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material-content information. NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - its milestone dates generally track official records but decommissioned and struck dates are stated as unknown. uboat.net carries a conflicting 27 December 1944 commissioning date (see gaps). Spec block attributes figures to Navships 250-012.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, 'A Brief History of USS LCS(L)(3) 88' by Arthur R. Martin, Signalman - crew memoir provided by the National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050088h.htm - 'A Brief History of USS LCS(L)(3) 88' full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- First-person account of this hull's service: crew assembled at Solomons, MD amphibious training base (gunner's mates via Fort Pierce, FL); troop train to Portland; ship taken over at commissioning 22 December 1944; departed via Willamette/Columbia to Astoria then San Diego shakedown; sailed for Pearl Harbor January 1945 with five other LCSs; escorted 36 LCTs to Guam (~40 days at 6 knots) with 6 LCIs, 3 sub chasers, 3 destroyer escorts; via Saipan to Okinawa, arriving 12 April 1945; assigned radar picket duty. On the second picket patrol, 11 May 1945, in company with USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779), USS Harry F. Bauer (DM-26), and LCSs 52, 109, and 114: attack by one Betty bomber and four Oscar fighters; after the ship's 20mm clipped a kamikaze's wing and the aft twin 40mm splashed it point-blank, a 200-lb bomb from the plane hit the fantail - 9 killed (including the commanding officer) and 7 wounded, all men on the aft gun killed; steering disabled; fire extinguished under engineering officer Lt.(jg.) White. Towed to Kerama Retto; then Saipan, Eniwetok, Pearl Harbor; ordered to San Francisco for repairs; postwar ordered to Japan, recalled, and returned to Portland; 'we finally put the LCS 88 in mothballs in Astoria, Oregon, in March 1946.' Memoir notes 'there is an official battle report on this incident.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-12-22 to 1946-03
- Population
- Crew of ~71 (6 officers, 65 enlisted); 9 KIA / 7 WIA on 11 May 1945
- Limitations
- Postwar first-person recollection published by the crew association on NavSource - not an official record, though it references an official action report (see ev-09). Details (aircraft types, casualty counts) match the NavSource awards block and the LCS-114 CO memoir (ev-03). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-02
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, 'A Brief History of LCS(L) 114' by Lt. Gerald Mefferd, Commanding Officer - independent crew-account corroboration of the 11 May 1945 action [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050114h.htm - 'A Brief History of LCS(L) 114' (Mefferd), 11 May 1945 passage
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborates the 11 May 1945 attack on this hull from an adjacent ship's commanding officer: 'The next big day was back on the picket line on the 11th of May. It was a morning attack by high and low flying suicide planes. Eight planes were shot down. One LCS, the 88, was hit by a bomb and the LCSs 52, 88 and 114 were strafed. The LCS 114 took the LCS 88 in tow until a tug could be sent out for her.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-11
- Population
- LCS(L)(3)-88 and LCS(L)(3)-114 crews, 11 May 1945
- Limitations
- Independent second crew memoir confirming the event and the tow; adds no casualty detail beyond the 88 memoir. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-03
-
[4]Navypedia, YURI large amphibious fire support ships (1944-1945 / 1953) - JMSDF table entry for Ajisai ex-LSSL88 ex-LCS(L)(3)88 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Navypedia jap_ls_ajisai.htm table row for Ajisai / LSSL425
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Foreign-service detail for this hull: 'Ajisai (ex-LSSL88, ex-LCS(L)(3)88), LSSL425, Commercial Iron Works, Portland, USA; laid 11.1944; launched 3.12.1944; completed 12.1944 // to Japan 4.1953; returned 1964.' Confirms the JMSDF pennant number LSSL-425 not shown on NavSource.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1953-1964
- Population
- JMSDF crew, 1953-1964
- Limitations
- Navypedia is a volunteer secondary compilation of foreign naval service; the LSSL-425 pennant rests on secondary sourcing (consistent with Polish Wikipedia's Ajisai disambiguation entry). Not verified against a JMSDF vessel register. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-04
-
[5]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (all-diesel GM series-71 quad-pack plant, 1,600 bhp, no boilers); NavSource/secondary builder allocation (Commercial Iron Works built LCS(L)(3) hulls 26-47 and 79-108); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (see ev-07); Oregon DEQ documentation of the builder's site (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 050088.htm specifications block; class builder allocation (Commercial Iron Works: LCS(L) 26-47, 79-108 per secondary literature); GAO HRD-80-2; Oregon DEQ Zidell materials
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A welded-steel landing craft support ship built November-December 1944 at Commercial Iron Works sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era and inside that yard's wartime construction program. Era-standard applications aboard a small all-diesel combatant of this type and period were engine exhaust lagging, machinery and flange gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and limited thermal insulation in accommodation and machinery spaces of the 158-ft confined hull. As an all-diesel vessel she carried no boilers or steam plant - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the small-hull confined-space exposure dynamic applies.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1964
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (Nov-Dec 1944); crew (1944-46); JMSDF crew (1953-64); repair personnel at San Francisco (1945) and Astoria reserve-fleet yard (1946)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, work package, or survey located for LCS(L)(3)-88. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-05
-
[6]Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 'Zidell Waterfront Property Cleanup' presentation (Scott Manzano, DEQ project manager) - contaminants list includes asbestos; 'Asbestos abatement project - all workers certified, air monitoring, bulk ACM disposal'; corroborated by OPB coverage and USCG Federal Register Regulated Navigation Area, 77 FR (2012-7784) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Oregon DEQ ph-ZidellCAG.pdf (contaminants and asbestos-abatement slides); OPB 'Zidell's Willamette River Cleanup Is Coming to a Close' (Oct 6, 2011); 77 FR Regulated Navigation Area, docket USCG-2012-7784
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Government documentation of asbestos contamination at this hull's builder site: the former Commercial Iron Works shipyard on Portland's South Waterfront - 'Ironworks shipyard before WWII; building, repair and salvage of Victory ships during WWII; purchased by Zidell in 1946: 336 ships dismantled over 30 years, scrap sold, waste used as site fill' - required a state-mandated cleanup in which asbestos was among the listed contaminants and a certified asbestos-abatement project was performed. The Coast Guard established a Regulated Navigation Area (2012-7784) to protect the engineered sediment cap; OPB reported asbestos-fiber-contaminated soils hauled to the Wasco County landfill under DEQ oversight.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1940s-2011
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works and Zidell yard workers (shipbuilding and dismantling eras); cleanup contractors (2006-2011 remedy)
- Limitations
- Site-level environmental record, not a hull record: the documented contamination derives substantially from postwar ship dismantling (1946-late 1970s, ~336 vessels) and other industrial operations, not provably from 1944-45 new construction. Does not establish materials aboard LCS(L)(3)-88 or exposure of any individual. Federal Register notice lists metals, hydrocarbons, PAHs, PCBs, and tributyltin; asbestos is explicit in the DEQ presentation and OPB/oregonlive coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-06
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (Nov-Dec 1944) and U.S. service era (1944-46, reserve to 1953).
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-07
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[8]Batch-5763 search ledger (this record): NavSource vessel page and two crew memoirs; navypedia JMSDF table; NHHC/DANFS (no entry - numbered landing craft outside scope); NVR (pre-1987 disposal, no entry); CourtListener opinions and RECAP dockets on all hull designations; Oregon DEQ/OPB/Federal Register on the builder's site; GAO product page; NARA RG 38 series check via DPLA sibling items; Library of Virginia separation-notice index; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LCS(L)(3)-88 / LSSL-88 / Ajisai was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener: opinion search on 'LCS(L)(3)-88' OR 'LCSL-88' OR 'LSSL-88' returned zero hits; RECAP docket search on those plus 'LCS-88' returned 3 hits, all name collisions (an 'LCS' = Life Care Services bankruptcy adversary; Finan v. Lafarge S.A.; a Sears Holdings bankruptcy transcript). 'Commercial Iron Works' + asbestos returned zero opinion hits; unqualified 'Commercial Iron Works' returned 20 opinion hits, all name collisions or non-asbestos matters (tax, customs, workers' compensation - none the Portland yard). The 'Ajisai' opinion query was throttled at session end (fleet pacing) - logged as blocked, not a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing pages listing LCS(L) craft generically - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - and one name-variant query (Ajisai) remains unrun due to throttling. Deck logs (RG 24), the 11 May 1945 action report (RG 38), CIW construction records, and any JMSDF-era survey are undigitized/unpulled leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-08
-
[9]NARA RG 38, 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' - sister-hull action reports digitized (e.g., LCS(L)(3)-64 report of action with enemy aircraft NW of Okinawa, NAID 101777221, via DPLA; LCS(L)(3)-85 report of action with enemy suicide boat, 4/18/45); the crew memoir states 'there is an official battle report' on this hull's 11 May 1945 action [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog NAID 101777221 (LCS(L)(3)-64 sibling item via dp.la); series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An official action report for this hull's 11 May 1945 kamikaze/bomb action very likely exists in NARA RG 38 (the memoir references it, and sister LCS(L)(3) action reports from the same Okinawa period are digitized in the same series via DPLA). Deck logs for the hull (RG 24, Dec 1944 - 1946) likewise exist in the undigitized deck-log series. These are the open leads for primary documentation of the battle damage and subsequent repair history.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-11 (event); report date unknown
- Population
- Crew, 11 May 1945
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the -88 action report itself was not located or pulled this session (NARA catalog is JS-rendered; DPLA search unfetchable); its existence is inferred from the memoir statement plus confirmed sibling items. No asbestos content expected in an action report, but it may document damage/repair scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-09
-
[10]Library of Virginia, World War II Separation Notices: Navy (FromThePage transcription project), work 1140041_003_104_001 - veteran's service-vessels field transcribed as 'USS LCS (L) 3 88' [other_primary]
- Locator
- FromThePage LVA WWII Separation Notices work 1140041_003_104_001 (search-index snippet; direct fetch 403)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A Virginia WWII Navy veteran's separation notice lists service aboard 'USS LCS (L) 3 88' in its service-vessels-and-stations field (preceded by V-12 Unit, SLU Canton NY; Great Lakes; Landing Craft School (PACIFIC)) - an official record placing a named individual aboard this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- WWII service period
- Population
- One Virginia veteran (crew member); full crew population ~71
- Limitations
- Verified via search-index snippet only - the FromThePage work page returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; the veteran's name and service dates were not captured. A service record is not an exposure record - this makes no asbestos claim for the individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-88-lcsl388-10