US Flag Flies Gallantly Flies Over Historic Sites-- Part 2: USS Arizona and USS Missouri

Harry T. Parker, his son, began wondering what he was going to do with this old 48-star flag that at least one of his father's ships had flown.    Since that ship was historic, he started thinking about other historic sites it might fly over.

He wrote a letter to the White House asking if it could fly there and President Obama was very encouraging.

Since 2015, that flag has flown over more than twenty historical sites, including Fort McHenry in Baltimore, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,  and the USS Wisconsin during a sailor's reenlistment. It has also flown over the only operable LST remaining in the world, the LST-325 (home ported in Evansville, Indiana).

The LST-466's ensign was notably flown over the submerged wreck of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor on the 75th anniversary of the infamous December 7, 1941, attack.  And even more historical, it was flown at 7:45 am, the exact time the attack began in 1941.

In addition, the flag flew over the USS Missouri, where the Japanese signed the papers officially ending World War II on September 2, 1945, that same day.  That was bookending the war for the United States.

--GreGen

LST-325-- Part 6: We Visited It in Dubuque, Iowa

I have been on the 325 in Evansville, but was excited to see that it was going to be nearer to home, and would be there while my wife Liz and I were on our 45th wedding anniversary in nearby Galena.  We got a room in Dubuque, Iowa, by where the ship was docked and enjoyed talking with the crew that night after it closed to visitors.

And, they had really long lines waiting to board on both the Saturday we arrived and on Sunday.  Something I was happy to see.  There were quite a few veterans and even some World War II ones who were given VIP treatment.

Tours were held from 11 am to 6 pm Thursday to Monday, August 27.  Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 6 to 17.  Children 5 and younger and World War II veterans get in free.

Well Worth the Experience.  --GreGen

LST-325-- Part 5: Lousy Gas Mileage

One drawback of LSTs however is that they are not fuel-efficient.  The diesel powered ship burns through more than six gallons of gas for every mile it travels.

Every penny earned by the nonprofit group running the ship from ticket sales and sales from the gift shop is used to keep the tanks full and engine running.

But, it's time and money well spent.

"We've been doing this since 2004," according to John Tallent.  "We've served over 450,000 visitors in that time frame.  Typically, we're underway going on a tour of cities three or four weeks a year.  In that time span, we'll see on average 33,000 visitors."

The ship is home-based in Evansville, Indiana, on the Ohio River when not on tour.

--GreGen

LST-325-- Part 4: U.S. Navy, Then It Was All Greek to Me

LST-325 broke in with the U.S, Navy, where it deployed to North Africa and was at Omaha Beach on D-Day.

But, from 1963 to 1999 the ship was in the Greek Navy  and named the RHS Syros, before it was bought by the Evansville, Indiana, non-profit.  Traces of its time in the Greek Navy can be found throughout the ship today.  Greek lettering is still on its bow and other places in the ship.

OPERATING IN A WAR ZONE

LSTs had to beach themselves to be effective disgorging its cargo, a traditional move to deep water wasn't an option.  The ship relied on a 3,000 pound anchor to help pull it out to sea.  Before making landfall, the anchor would be dropped.

Then a steel cable attached to the anchor would spool out as the LST made its final approach.  After it landed its cargo, the ship would then winch itself off the beach.

John Tallent said:  "It takes a lot to surprise me, but I'm consistently amazed at the ingenuity that went into these things."

--GreGen

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

LST-325-- Part 2: An LST Veteran On This Ship

John Tallent and his team of 50 crew members -- most of them former military and all of them volunteers --  will spend the rest of the week docked in the Port of Dubuque.  The public isinvited to come tour the floating museum before it continues its journey down the Mississippi River and then the Ohio River to its home port in Evansville, Indiana.

Irwin Kuhns "came up from the hills" when he answered the call for service at the age of 17.  He said he "didn't even know what a ship was" before he was deployed to the South Pacific theater in an LST during World War II.

He learned soon enough.

"It was all new," said Kuhns, who is helping with the crew of the LST-325 on its Mississippi voyage.  Back during WW II, he said:  "And I'm an eager-beaver guy.  I just wanted  to know anything and everything."

Kuhns became a coxswain and was tasked with piloting Higgins boats, or landing craft attached to the LSTs.  He made a lot of supply runs and completed whatever errands were necessary.

"I'd run all over the place.  I had more time in the Higgins boat than anybody aboard the ship.

--GreGen

LST-325: Ship's Brilliance on Display in Dubuque-- Part 1: Charged Head First Onto Enemy Beaches

From the April 23, 2018, Dubuque (Iowa) Tlegraph Herald by Ben Jacobson.

Vessel's versatilty addressed urgent needs during World War II.John Tallent believes the simplicity of the USS LST-325 belies the ship's brilliance.

Only a few short years separated the conception and completion and these landing ships were deployed by the U.S. en masse on multiple fronts during the war.  LSTs charged head first onto beaches with troops, trucks, tanks  sewing forth from them from a gaping hatch in the ship's bow.

The the coming war, there were no bureaucratic minutiae or subcommittee meetings to bog down innovation.  According to Tallent, there was just a need and an urgency to address needs.

"The solutions we came up with, we, the American people, to hellacious problems ... it just boggles the mind," said Tallent, president of the non-profit USS LST Ship Memorial and the deck officer of the ship's current voyage.

--GreGen

LST-325 Visits Dubuque-- Part 5: War's Going to Be Over

Roger Klauer says the trip to the LST-325 on Monday was emotional for the whole family:  "This is where Dad was figuring out who he was going to be.  He was just 22 years old and not yet married."

Klauer's LST was at sea when he learned the war was ending.

"Our captain announced: 'Now hear this:  We've just had an announcement that a bomb was dropped on enemy territory that is equivalent to what 2,000 bombers could carry, and we expect the war to be over soon."

We went into the bay at Manila and we counted 42 enemy ships that had been sunk," Klauer said.

He was discharged on June 6, 1946, and attended dental school on the G.I. Bill and practiced dentistry in Dubuque for 45 years, retiring in 1998.

--GreGen

LST-325 Visits Dubuque-- Part 4: LST-806 At Sea in the Pacific

In New Orleans, the LST-806's weapons were mounted.  Then the ship went through the Panama Canal on its way to the South Pacific Ocean.

"Along the equator, there were times the ocean looked like glass -- it was absolutely calm," he recalled.  "The sunrises and sunsets were gorgeous."

His job on board was to assist in the ship's office and he also served as a "conn talker," an individual who relays the captain's orders to the rest of the crew.

After sailing along the equator alone, the 808 joined a large number of ships upon arrival in the South Pacific.  After that, the ship embarked on a series of island invasions.

--GreGen

LST-325 Visits Dubuque-- Part 3: Training and His Ship

As he walked through the LST-325, he recalled his days on the identical LST-806.

"We slid down those stairs," he said of a steep set of stairs leading down to the ship's living quarters,.  "Sometimes the seas were so rough the deck with ripple."

Roger Klauer entered Navy service on May 11, 1944.  His LST crew was assembled  shortly after that in Libertyville, Illinois.  "from there, we trained at Navy Pier (Chicago), then we were sent to Evansville, Indiana."

The Navy launched Klauer's LST-806 from the shipyards in Evansville (which is the LST-325's home port).  With him and the rest of the crew of 123 on board,  the USS LST-806 traveled down the Ohio River to Cairo, Illinois, where it went into the Mississippi River and eventually to New Orleans.

--GreGen

LST-325 Visits Dubuque-- Part 2: LST-806 Operations

Roger Klauer said that one of the invasions his LST-806 was involved in was the one of  Palawan in the Philippines in early 1945.  "Palawan was of extreme importance because the enemy was holding out prisoners there."

His LST also made landings at Brunei Bay on Borneo and on the tip of the Philippines.

"We would hit the shores at low tides.  We would open the doors, and equipment, tents, food and everything would come out."

He toured the LST-325 on Monday, August 27, the same day I was on the ship.  He had his family with him who lived all over the country.

--GreGen

LST-325 Visits Dubuque, Iowa-- Part 1: LST Veteran Visits

From the August 28, 2018, Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph-Herald  "Veteran revisits tour of duty aboard restored WW II ship" by Eric Hogstrom.

Roger F. Klaure, 94, toured the restored LST-325 in Dubuque, 74 years after he first stepped aboard  a LST (Landing Ship Tank), the USS LST-806, in the Pacific Theater of action during World War II.

His own LST transported troops and equipment during invasions around Borneo and the Philippines in 1945.

"We did make three landings, after the shores had been bombarded by cruisers, destroyers, rockets, planes and everything," he said.

--GreGen

LST-325 Comes to Dubuque, Iowa, This Weekend

The famed World War  II LST-325 is coming to Iowa this weekend and will be at Dubuque and is currently moored there.  It will be open for tours from Thursday, Aug. 23 to Monday, Aug. 27.

Then it will visit Bettendorf, Iowa, from August 30 to Sept 3 and then to Chester, Illinois, September 6 to Sept. 9.

Hoping to visit it in Dubuque.

This ship, the LST stands for Landing Ship Tank, for one of its major jobs,  and was at D-Day and the follow up.  6 June 1944, it carried 59 vehicles,  30 officers and 396 enlisted men to the beach at Normandy, and then returned with 38 casualties.

Over the next nine months, the ship made more than 40 trips across the English Channel carrying thousands of men and pieces of equipment.

Then, later it was in the Greek navy.

The ship is 327 feet long and has a 50-foot beam.

A Lot of History Here.  --GreGen

Way to Go to World War II Navy Veteran Ernie Andrus: Coast-to-Coast for the LST-325

He just finished his cross-country run a few minutes ago in St. Simons, Georgia.  Over 2,900 miles running, slow pace as he says, but nonetheless.  He left San Diego, California, at the Pacific Ocean on October 7, 2013, and accomplished his feat in segments since then.

I watched a life feed and there was quite the big crowd there chanting his name and "U.S.A." as well as a Navy escort.

And, yesterday, he had a birthday.  Today he is 94!!  This would be quite the accomplishment for a twenty-something, not to mention a nonagenerian.

Even better, he is raising money for the LST-325.  This ship is docked at Evansville, Indiana, on the Ohio River and is the only operational LST (Landing Ship Tank) of over a thousand built during the war that is still operational.  It was at D-Day.

Unfortunately, he has not even raised enough money to cover his expenses for the effort.

Ernie, we'll be donating in the next few days.

Of course, I'm the one who missed the boat.  I should have been following along with him in this blog the whole way.  Sorry.

A Real American Hero!  What Did They Say About the Greatest Generation?  --GreGen

World War II Vet, 90, Running Across U.S. for LST-325-- Part 3

Many LSTs were destroyed in nuclear bomb tests after the war.    Some were used in combat as late as the Vietnam War and others were given away or sold for scrap.

The LST-325 was found in Greece which got it from the U.S. in 1964 and the LST Memorial organization bought it in 2000.

Ernie Andrus, the man running across the country, and several other WWII vets went to Greece to prepare the ship to sail back across the Atlantic to its home country.

"They told us it was a job that 44 young men could never do.  Well, 28 old men went over there and did it."

Winston Churchill once said that the Allies couldn't have won the war without the LSTs.

Andrus was a Navy corpsman during the war.

I've been able to see the ship docked in Evasville.

--GreGen

World War II Vet, 90, Running Across the U.S. for LST-325-- Part 2

One hundred and sixty-seven LSTs were built at Evansville, the most of any shipyard.  The LST-325, however, wasn't one of them.

Many of the LSTs were built in so-called "Cornfield Shipyards" like at Evansville, Jeffersonville and Seneca, Illinois.    These  places had never built ships of this size before and never did again.  More than 1,000 LSTs were built.  The only remaining LST in running condition is LST-325.

It also is the only ship from D-Day and Normandy still steaming under its own power.

--GreLSTGen.

World War II Vet, 90, Running Across United States for LST- 325-- Part 1

From the June 12, 2014, WBIW (Indiana) "90-Year-Old WWII Vet Running Across the U.S.."

Ernie Andrus, 90, started his trek across the United states last October at the Pacific Ocean and is currently in Arizona.  He says he averages 17 1/2 miles a week and sometimes is running by himself and other times with supporters.  He is doing this for the LST-325, homeport in Evansville, Indiana.

LST stands for Landing Ship Tank in Navy speak.  These flat-bottomed ships were designed during World War II with the purpose of landing troops, tanks and heavy equipment to enemy beaches and were particularly apparent at D-Day and the follow-up Normandy operation as well as in the Pacific against the Japanese.  

--GreGen

Bits Of War: Pearl Harbor Survivor-- LST-325

1.  GEORGE F. MILLS--  Of Pensacola, Florida, 1920-2012, died Dec. 26th.  Born Sioux City, Iowa, grew up in California.  Joined Navy in 1938 and was at Pearl Harbor (but I did not find out where).  Then fought in the Pacific, Aleutian Islands and Philippines, making chief by the end of the war.


2.  LST-325--  Set sail Jan. 7th for Port Arthur, Texas, for six weeks in drydock, something it does every ten years.  So don't expect to see it at its home port in Evansville, Indiana, on the Ohio River until some time in March.

GreGen

Bits of War: New Battle at Pearl Harbor-- LST-325 Runs Aground-- Low Mississippi Waters Reveal WWII Ship

Bits of War:  New News About an Old War

1.  NEW BATTLE AT PEARL HARBOR--  From the Oct. 8, 2012, LA Times--  The 450 acre Ford Island in the middle of Pearl Harbor is listed on the NRHP.  Now, the Navy plans to construct a solar power plant with 60,000 photovoltaic panels and have encountered strong oppositions from World War II veterans and historians.  Going Green is a right move as long as it doesn't interfere too much with one of the key points on the island.


2.  LST-325 RUNS AGROUND--  From the Oct. 4, 2012, Clarksville (Tn) Leaf Chronicle.  The LST-325, the last fully operational World War II (at D-Day) Landing Ship Tank vessel, ran aground in Lake Barkley, but a tugboat along with the ship's anchor winch (this is how the ships got off beaches) and engines got her off and the ship is on its way home to Evansville, Indiana.


3.  LOW MISSISSIPPI RIVER WATERS REVEAL WWII SHIP--  From the Oct. 4, 2012, Sacramento (Cal) Bee--  The USS Inaugural was ripped from the St. Louis riverfront during the floods 20 years ago and its remains are now visible again because of this summer's drought.  It is about  a half mile past the MacArthurBridge.

The fleet minesweeper was launched Oct. 1944, decommissioned in 1946 and became a floating museum ship in St. Louis in 1968.  The ship was ripped from its moorings during the 1993 floods.  About 700 ships are known to have sunk along this stretch of the Mississippi River.

Bits of War.  --GreGen

Bits of War: LST-325 Runs Aground-- Lane Interred on USS Arizona

Bits of War


1.  From 10-2-12 Sacramento (Ca) Bee--  LST-325 RUNS AGROUND--  The World War II ship LST-325 was in the Cumberland River on its way back to home port in Evansville, Indiana, nine miles from the Lake Barkley Lock and Dam.  There were no reports of damage and it is expected it will be able to get off.


2.  LANE INTERRED ON USS ARIZONA--  From the 10-2-12 CNIC//Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam--Glenn Lane was one of the USS Arizona's survivors that day and went on to serve 30 years in the military and in three wars.  He died Dec. 10, 2011, just 70 years and three days after the attack nearly 70 years to the day.  His ashes were interred Sept. 12th on his ship on which he had been a seaplane radioman.

Some New News About an Old War.  --GreGen