The LST-325 has just returned, docked in Evansville on the Ohio River, international flags waving in the breeze.
For four weeks, the crew visited different cities offering paid tours of the ship.
What sets the LST-325 apart, is that it looks the same as it did in 1944. This includes grey paint throughout, 40mm anti-aircraft gun turrets, canvas crew bunks the functioning bow door and ramp, original 1940s radios and wheel in the helm.
According to the International Historical Naval Ships Association, this is the last seaworthy World War II LST in the world.
At the first stop in Muscatine Iowa, LST-325 crewmember Zach Shaw leads a tour, using a posted map as a reference.
“This map shows you every location the ship went to during World War Two,” he said. “All of the major turning points … this ship was there when all of those big events happened.”
Six thousand paid to tour the ship over the weekend in Iowa, according to the museum that maintains the ship.
This vessel’s home has been in Evansville Indiana for 20 years. But in 1944 it delivered troops and tanks to Omaha Beach on D-Day. Traveling at max speeds of 14 miles an hour, LSTs have also been called "Last Ship There" or "Large Slow Target." But speed wasn’t why the ship was important to the allies in World War II.
“I think it's very easy to say that this was the ship that won the war," said University of Evansville History Professor James McLeod. "Obviously, it was a much more complicated story than that. But if you think about the American landings in France and Sicily and Italy and North Africa and all across the Pacific, really, they were successful because the soldiers and Marines that landed were able to be supported relatively quickly with heavy equipment and tanks, and that was primarily done by LSTs.”
The LST-325 was one of about 1,000 built for the war. 167 were built in Evansville. These fundraising cruises have been happening for about 18 years.
Chris Donahue is LST-325 director. He said they can make around $500,000 from these annual tours.
“We'll make more money in that one month than we do all year here at Evansville,” he said “That's critical to our mission, because we don't get any government money.”
While there are several volunteers at the LST-325, the office staff is paid.
This tour supports the expense of running the museum near the dock and of course, keeping the vessel operating.
Before it could cruise to Muscatine Iowa, the crew had to complete a lengthy checklist. One of the final steps was firing up the twin, 100-year old locomotive engines, each roughly the size of a passenger car.
The crew moved quickly about the engine bay, feet stepping on metal plates, heads ducking below grey-painted piping, the occasional rush of pressurized air punctuating the din.
After several checks, and a little troubleshooting, the air starters scream and the engines, one-by-one, gurgle to life.
The crew are mainly volunteers assembled from out-of-town. The pilot, Bob Kubota, is licensed to drive a barge on the Ohio River.
On the deck, the crew unties the ship, preparing to disembark September fourth. In wartime, the upper deck would hold lighter vehicles like jeeps.
From shore, Prestyn VanDoran, 7, along with family, waves goodbye to crew member and grand daddy, Steve VanDoran who’s waving goodbye from the ship’s deck.
The LST slowly turns around in the Ohio river and motors away.
While jeeps sat on the top deck, the cavernous tank deck below held and delivered 20 Sherman Tanks into enemy territory. This feature is most striking for McLeod.
“You think what that must have been like during the moments before the ship hit the beaches, when there would have been dozens and dozens of young men in the 20 Sherman tanks that would have been lined up in that tank deck just waiting for the bow doors to open and for their war to start.”
McLeod said because so few World War II veterans remain, such artifacts are important to learn about the history — and their sacrifices.
The LST-325 along with the Evansville Wartime Museum, are some of the main reasons Evansville is the designated WWII Heritage City for the state of Indiana.
Learn more about the LST-325 here.
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