Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-468 - construction/milestones, unit assignments, awards, specifications, photo record (history extract credited to 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II,' Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14468.htm header block, unit-assignment lines, specifications block, awards ribbons, and photo captions; Commanding Officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-1 class landing ship medium: laid down 20 January 1945 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston TX; launched 10 February 1945; commissioned USS LSM-468 16 March 1945, LT. Harold Steele Harrison USNR in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater; LSM Flotilla Fifteen (Flagship); LSM Group Forty-Four; LSM Division Eighty-Nine. Post-war occupation service in the Far East 5 September - 2 December 1945. Decommissioned 25 June 1946 at Terminal Island Navy Yard, San Pedro, CA; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold December 1946 to A.G. Schoonmaker, New York, fate unknown. Specifications: 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. fully loaded; 203'6" x 34'6"; two Fairbanks Morse 38D81/8X10 reversible diesels (1,440 BHP each at 720rpm), direct drive, twin propellers, 2,800 shp, 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted. Ribbons shown: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; WWII Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Photographs document the ship at Amphibious Training Base Little Creek VA circa early 1945, off Treasure Island, San Francisco Bay, 25-31 May 1945 (with LSM-466), and nested at Terminal Island CA with LSM-66 and LSM-114.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (Jan-Mar 1945); commissioning crew (Mar 1945-Jun 1946)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation (history extract credited to the Turner Publishing LSM-LSMR book) - milestone dates corroborate where the primary war diaries overlap them, but the 'Group Forty-Four' assignment conflicts with the primary flotilla war-diary roster placing her in Group Forty-Five as flotilla flagship (see ev-04 correction row). 'Stricken' date is stated as unknown; a 3 July 1946 date circulates only in secondary sources (uboat.net). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-01
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[2]NARA, RG 38 'WWII War Diaries,' COM LSM Group 45 - War Diary, 9/1-30/45 (NAID 633456084, Microfilm Roll A2017, 3 images, digitized) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 633456084, images 0167-0169 of Roll A2017 (war diary pages 1-2)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The September 1945 war diary of Commander LSM Group 45 (the group the October flotilla diary places LSM-468 in) records ship-specific operations: 'LSMs 468, 469, and 481 participated in the occupation of WAKAYAMA, HONSHU. LSM 468 loaded assault equipment of the 98th Infantry Division at OAHU, T.H. on 1 September and departed for the objective on 4 September, arriving on 27 September. LSM 468 was a part of Task Unit 54.27.2, of which Commander LSM Flotilla 15 was Commander.' The same diary notes that missing ship war diaries could 'probably be attributed to the typhoon which destroyed the Fleet Post Office, OKINAWA, on October 9 and 10.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-09
- Population
- LSM-468 crew; embarked 98th Infantry Division equipment/personnel connection
- Limitations
- Ship-specific operational record in a primary Navy document, transcribed directly from the digitized microfilm images this session. Documents the occupation-landing movement only - no material, maintenance, or asbestos content. She loaded equipment at Oahu on 1 September but is listed as arriving at the Wakayama objective 27 September; NavSource's 'occupation service from 5 September' is consistent within a day but its basis is not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-02
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[3]NARA, RG 38 'WWII War Diaries,' COM LSM Flotilla 15 - War Diary, 10/1-31/45 (NAID 77581536, Microfilm Roll A1971, 4 images, digitized) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 77581536, images 0220-0223 of Roll A1971 (letterhead page, roster paragraph 1, narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The October 1945 war diary of Commander LSM Flotilla 15 (Administrative Command, Amphibious Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet; Commander B. F. Bailey) lists the flotilla composition: LSM Group FORTY-THREE, LSM Group FORTY-FOUR, and 'LSM Group FORTY-FIVE (LSM's 468(FF), 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474(GF), 475, 476, 478, 481 and 493)' - placing this hull in Group 45 and marking her (FF), flotilla flagship, corroborating NavSource's '(Flagship)' annotation. The diary records the flotilla commander's transit to Okinawa diverted around the approaching typhoon (arriving 11 October) and notes the October 9-10 storm destroyed the Fleet Post Office at Okinawa.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-10
- Population
- LSM-468 crew; LSM Group 45 / Flotilla 15 staff relationship
- Limitations
- Primary document transcribed from digitized microfilm this session. Documents unit assignment and the (FF) flagship marking; the flotilla commander was physically embarked in LC(FF) 569 during the October transit, so (FF) is an administrative flagship designation on this hull's roster line, not evidence of embarked staff throughout. No asbestos or material content. No LSM Group 45 diary for October 1945 is cataloged - the month of her typhoon grounding is not covered at group level in the digitized series.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-03
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[4]NHHC Online Reading Room, 'Typhoons and Hurricanes: Pacific Typhoon at Okinawa, October 1945' - extract from Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas report on the Surrender and Occupation of Japan, Annex A ('Typhoon "Louise"') and Appendix III damage table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Appendix III table, 'LSM 468 - Refloated 10/21/45'; Annex A narrative of the 9 October 1945 storm at Buckner Bay
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC documents that Typhoon 'Louise' struck Okinawa's Buckner Bay anchorage on 9 October 1945 - 12 ships sunk, 222 grounded, 32 damaged beyond ship's-force repair. In Appendix III 'Typhoon Damage at Okinawa (Based Upon Progress Reports to 19 November),' the table entry for this hull reads 'LSM 468 - Refloated 10/21/45': she was driven aground in the storm and refloated twelve days later during the ComServDiv 104 salvage effort. LSM-468 was among the landing ships present in the bay for the occupation lift.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-10-09 to 1945-10-21
- Population
- LSM-468 crew during Typhoon Louise; ComServDiv 104 salvage crews (Oct 1945)
- Limitations
- Official U.S. Navy historical reproduction of the CinCPac report annex - a primary fleet record. Documents the grounding-and-refloat event only; the table gives no damage extent for this hull (other entries note 'beyond economical salvage' or repair states - hers shows only the refloat date). Salvage/refloat work of this kind typically disturbed hull fittings and machinery, but this record says nothing about materials or asbestos. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-04
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[5]NARA, RG 38 'WWII War Diaries,' COM LSM Flotilla 15 - War Diary, 12/1-31/45 (NAID 140083670, Microfilm Roll A2005, 3 images, digitized) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 140083670, images 0432-0434 of Roll A2005 (letterhead page, roster paragraph 1, narrative paragraph 6)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The December 1945 flotilla war diary records the orders ending this hull's deployment: 'AdComPhibsPac dispatch 280029 of December 1945 directed LSM 468 and LC(FF) 569 to sail in company to the West Coast, LSM 468 proceeding to SAN PEDRO, CALIFORNIA... Upon arrival SAN PEDRO LSM 468 was directed to report by dispatch to Commander NINETEENTH Fleet for duty.' On 28 December 1945 LSM-468 and LC(FF) 569 departed Pearl Harbor for the West Coast by the great-circle route (ETA 6 January 1946), the flotilla commander and staff embarked in company. Nineteenth Fleet was the Navy's inactive/reserve fleet - the order began her path to the 25 June 1946 decommissioning at Terminal Island Navy Yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-12 to 1946-01
- Population
- LSM-468 crew; flotilla staff in company (Dec 1945-Jan 1946)
- Limitations
- Primary document transcribed from digitized microfilm this session. Documents her return orders and destination; the diary does not record her arrival date or which hull physically carried the flotilla staff ('with Commander LSM Flotilla FIFTEEN and Staff aboard' modifies the two-ship company). Decommissioning event itself is documented by NavSource, not this diary. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-05
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[6]NARA, RG 19 'Ship Engineering Drawings' (Records of the Bureau of Ships), 'Drawings for USS LSM-468' (NAID 153715325) - paper copy, National Archives at College Park Cartographic; Not Yet Available Online [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/153715325 - file-unit record, archived-copy block (College Park Cartographic)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A Bureau of Ships engineering drawing set exists for this exact hull at NARA College Park (Cartographic), unrestricted access, not digitized. As-built engineering drawings for a hull are the class of record in which insulation schedules, duct/piping lagging specifications, and machinery arrangements would appear - the likeliest single repository for ship-specific material evidence on this vessel.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945), if drawings reflect as-built state
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the catalog entry does not enumerate drawing titles and the set is not digitized, so its contents (and whether any insulation/material schedule survives for this hull) are unverified. A drawing set is not a materials certification - even if present, insulation plans would indicate specified, not confirmed-installed, materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-06
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[7]Owens Corning/Fibreboard Asbestos Personal Injury Trust, 'FB Approved Site List' (updated 13 May 2026), record 10020240 - 'Brown Shipyard, Houston, TX,' accepted exposure window 1/1/1941-12/31/1982 [other_primary]
- Locator
- FB-Site-List-5.13.26.xlsx, row 'Brown Shipyard | Houston | TX' (record 10020240); documents index ocfbasbestostrust.com/resources/documents/
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A court-administered asbestos bankruptcy trust's approved site list names 'Brown Shipyard, Houston, TX' - this hull's builder - as an accepted Fibreboard-product exposure site with a window (1/1/1941-12/31/1982) that covers her January-March 1945 construction. Site acceptance under a section 524(g) Trust Distribution Procedure reflects the trust's determination that the debtor's asbestos product was present at that site and claimants were exposed there. A second independent trust list (Fuller-Austin Asbestos Settlement Trust, 'Current FA Jobsite List') separately names 'Brown Shipyard, Houston, TX' with first exposure dated 1/1/1965 - after this hull was built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- Trust list current through 2026-05-13; window 1941-1982
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding trades (1941-1982 window as accepted by the trust)
- Limitations
- Yard-level claims-administration record, not a hull record: it names the shipyard, never this vessel, and establishes Fibreboard product presence at the site - not what was installed aboard LSM-468. Trust date windows are blanket administrative ranges (the 1941 start here predates nothing and the 1982 end long outlasts Brown's shipbuilding era - the yard was leased to Todd from 1949). The trust list is itself a litigation-produced claims record, the less-final category of evidence; it is carried as builder-yard context only. Full workbook downloaded and row verified this session (record 10020240, Excel date serials 14977/30316).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-07
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[8]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 (January-March 1945) and service era (March 1945-June 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- 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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches, confirmed 2026-10-01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-08
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[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (Fairbanks Morse diesel plant, no propulsion boilers); LSM class technical manual (March 1944, Serial 1766, issued to USS LSM-294 - scanned at NavSource) documenting a small auxiliary oil-fired steam boiler for heating/services and 'Steam Heating System' plans in the class list of plans; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-08); OCFB Brown Shipyard site-list record (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LSM-468 specifications block; navsource.net/archives/10/14/lsm manual/ (ch. 30-31 machinery, ch. 29 list of plans); catalog.archives.gov/id/153715325
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing ship built in early 1945 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era and a builder yard named on a trust-approved asbestos exposure-site list covering the construction window. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel amphibious ship of this period were engine exhaust and muffler lagging, machinery insulation, gaskets and valve packing on piping systems, electrical insulation, and insulation around the auxiliary steam boiler that the class technical manual documents.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (build and service era)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew (Mar 1945-Jun 1946); salvage crews during the Oct 1945 refloat; disposal/scrapping workforce post-sale
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package was located for LSM-468 (the NARA BuShips drawing set, NAID 153715325, is the undigitized lead where such schedules would appear). Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The class manual's machinery chapters are image scans; OCR review surfaced the auxiliary boiler and steam-heating plan titles but no explicit asbestos/magnesia material text - the manual confirms systems, not insulation chemistry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-09
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[10]Batch-6281 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NHHC Online Reading Room (typhoon annex); NARA catalog (war diaries, engineering drawings); OCFB trust site list; GAO product page; CourtListener API v4 (opinions and RECAP dockets); NVR; DANFS index (hazegray/losthistory mirror); shipbuildinghistory/navalmarinearchive yard list; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS LSM-468 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener: exact-phrase '"LSM-468"' opinion search returned 0 results; loose 'LSM-468' opinion search returned 11 hits, all token collisions (numeric '468' plus 'LSM' as PACER judge-initials or OCR noise - no opinion text names the ship); 'LSM-468' docket search returned 399 hits, all collisions on Court of Federal Claims judge initials '-LSM' in case captions plus numeric '468' noise - no docket names the vessel. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (numbered LSMs largely lack DANFS entries; the hazegray DANFS auxiliaries index carries only LSM-398 among numbered LSMs).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1945-built hull sold out of the Navy in 1946 would not have appeared in modern survey/abatement records, and the likeliest evidence (BuShips drawings, deck logs, sale contract material-condition clauses) is undigitized. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-10
-
[11]Cross-check: NavSource LSM-468 page (Turner book extract) vs NARA RG 38 COM LSM Flotilla 15 war diaries for October and December 1945 (NAIDs 77581536, 140083670) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14468.htm assignment lines; NAID 77581536 image 0221 paragraph 1; NAID 140083670 image 0433 paragraph 1
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: NavSource's unit-assignment lines list this hull under 'LSM Group Forty-Four; LSM Division Eighty-Nine.' The primary flotilla war-diary rosters for both October and December 1945 instead list 'LSM Group FORTY-FIVE (LSM's 468(FF), 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474(GF), 475, 476, 478, 481 and 493)' - Group Forty-Five, with LSM-468 marked (FF), flotilla flagship. The war-diary roster is the contemporaneous primary record and is carried for October-December 1945; an earlier Group 44 assignment before October cannot be excluded, and 'Division Eighty-Nine' is consistent with Group 45's divisional organization but is not independently verified.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-10 to 1945-12
- Limitations
- Corrects a secondary-source unit assignment against primary war diaries - an administrative assignment, not a material claim. Division-level assignment unverified in either source family. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-468-lsm468-11