LST 325

July 8, 2010---Drove to Evansville, IN and toured the LST 325.
There were 135 of these ships built in Evansville during WWII. This particular one was built in Philadelphia. Over 1000 were built to carry troops , tanks and other equipment to the battlefields. This one served for the invasion of Normandy and several other stratigic battles. After the war it was decommisioned and later sold to Greece were it was used for about 30 years. It sat for many years rusting away. It was scheduled to be destroyed when a group of individuals from the USA decided to get the ship and bring it back to the States to preserve this part of history. This ship is the last of its kind still sea worthy today. The group of 29 men who served on these vessels during the war went to greece and arrangements were made to restore the ship. These dedicated individuals all in their 70's did much of the work and actually brought it across the ocean under its own power. Arrived in Mobile Bay January 10, 2001. It was a big challenge and their dedication is to be commended. The ship is still used to haul tour groups. Some of the same elderly gentlemen who saved the vessel pilot it to different cities for viewing. It will be in Pittsburgh the middle of August this year. If you are in the area be sure to take a look.

Pride is the most important word that can really describe the feelings.

There were a lot more pictures taken today. They can be seen in the slide show on the right. Reminder that if you click on the slide show it will show much larger and can be viewed one picture at a time.