LST-325-- Part 3: LSTs "Large, Slow-moving Targets"

The most unique feature of the LSTs is also what made them one of the least-desirable postings in the U.S. Navy.  Their flat, keel-less bottoms made for a bumpy ride.

"It was like riding a bathtub in a typhoon," said John Tallent, who served on an LST during the Vietnam War.

World War II veteran Jack Stephenson said he "never met anybody that was on an LST that enjoyed it."

"No. no, no, no," he said when asked if he ever served on one.  "This was the worst duty in the Navy.  I was on a destroyer escort in the Pacific.  We ran rings around these things."

But the wide-open, flat design made the slow-moving ships extremely utilitarian.

"(They could transport) trucks, guns, ammunition, gasoline, anything,"  Stevenson said.

As a matter of fact, LSTs were generally referred to as "Large, Slow-moving Targets" by its crews.

--GreGen