80th Anniversary of D-Day is this Saturday

WNIN | By Tim Jagielo

Published June 6, 2024 at 6:05 PM CDT

The LST 325 is docked in Evansville as a "living" museum of WWII and the wartime efforts at home, which included building these vessels which carried troops, vehicles and supplies into war zones. — LST 325 tour guide Richard Fossier describes how Higgins Boats were used to deploy troops and even a Jeep onto the beach directly during D-Day. Higgins boats were attached to LSTs, like the LST 325 docked in Evansville, Indiana.

The LST 325 Memorial Inc. is hosting a free memorial ceremony on Saturday at 10:30 AM to mark the 80th anniversary of D-day; the LST 325 docked in Evansville also stormed the beaches of Normandy

A can of light grey touch-up paint sits open on an upper deck of the LST-325 in Evansville, as preparations have begun for the memorial ceremony on Saturday.

This LST 325 ship docked in Evansville in the Ohio River served the allied forces on D-Day, alongside up to 7,000 other vessels, and 144 other LSTs, according to the BBC.

D-Day happened June 6 of 1944. Allied forces attacked the Germans occupying northern France. 2024 is of course the 80th anniversary of this event.

The LST 325 Memorial Inc. is hosting a free memorial ceremony on Saturday at 10:30 AM to mark this occasion.

One of the volunteer crew members is James “Sarge” Goodall, a 27 year veteran himself.

“We're gonna get the deck cleaned up, everything moved around and put up the bunting, chairs and that type of thing."

Goodall feels the LST is more immersive than a regular history museum.

“If you're on a ship, you see it, you feel it, you can smell it, because this is living history,” he said.

John "Sarge" Goodall works in the ward room Thursday of the LST 325 docked in Evansville. "We paid one devil of a price for our freedom and two many times we forget that," said the Airforce and Army Veteran. "That's what we're here to remind them." — James "Sarge" Goodall works in the ward room Thursday of the LST 325 docked in Evansville. "We paid one devil of a price for our freedom and two many times we forget that," said the Airforce and Army Veteran. "That's what we're here to remind them."

LST stands for Landing Ship Tank, delivering items right to the beach, said Museum Operations Coordinator Cory Burdette.

“They carried tanks, troops, vehicles, supplies, ammo, and virtually anything else you can think of directly onto the beaches, especially at Normandy,” he said.

Troops and even jeeps were deployed from the LST using a Higgins Boat, as depicted in “Saving Private Ryan.”

The LST 325 saw action, and has the 20 millimeter and 40 millimeter round bullet damage to prove it.

“The LST was not used just at D-Day, it was also used in Salerno in Sicily invasions in 1943,” Burdette said. “And she would even go on to have service afterwards.”

Museum Operations Coordinator Cory Burdette said this ship had a long career — all the way up to 1999. Aside from delivering troops and supplies into warzones, LSTs also served as floating hospitals.

The D-Day memorial ceremony will feature historic vehicles, historic reenactors, Navy Lieutenant Commander as a speaker and LST tours for the standard fees.

The memorial service is free, but tours cost the standard $15 dollars for adults. Children over age 5 are $7.50.

“The goal is to help preserve and honor the memory of one of the most iconic and ambitious amphibious landings in world history,” Burdette said. “And to help honor the men and women who helped make it happen.”

He said women made up 48-percent of the workforce building LSTs right in Evansville.

Goodall said such events also celebrate the war effort on the home front. “There was a lot of history here,” Goodall said. “You build aircraft here, built tanks here, built ships here, ammo, a whole lot of history here.”

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