Historic World War II ship to dock in Cape

submitted photo

The LST-325, which served in several key World War II conflicts including D-Day, will dock in Cape Girardeau on Friday June 20, offering guided tours to help raise funds to repair the historic battleship. It will dock here for four days.By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian

On D-Day, scared American boys went over her side on rope ladders onto the rainy and horrific beaches of Normandy.

During the invasions of Sicily and Solerno, she made several exhaustive trips to unload infantry regiments, vehicles and loads of ammunition to help liberate Italy from German forces.

Once, her crew rescued 700 men from a troop transport that had been torpedoed off the coast of France, earning her captain a Bronze Star. Another time, she came under attack from remote-controlled German glider-bombs, sinking several of her sisters.

But whatever World War II threw at her, she survived. The LST-325 has always survived.

Now, the historic LST, for Landing Ship Tanks, is about to sail again, this time 3,150 miles up and down the Mississippi River from June through August as a "floating museum," including a four-day stop in Cape Girardeau.

The ship, which is departing Mobile, Ala., on Monday, will be docking at Riverfront Park on June 20 at 2 p.m, if river conditions permit.

About 20 World War II veterans traveling with the ship will offer guided tours from June 21 through June 24 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are a total of 40 crew members from various U.S. conflicts.

The ship will be stocked with Sherman tanks, half-tracks, different types of mortars and ammunition, 20- and 40-millimeter anti-aircraft weapons, and an operational radio room.

"The ship has a fascinating history," said Convention and Visitors Bureau director Chuck Martin, who arranged to have Cape Girardeau added to the list of stops after a local veteran suggested it. "We thought this would offer a wonderful opportunity for our residents to take a step back in history."

The LST-325 was one of more than 1,000 such ships built for beach landings during World War II. The flat-bottomed 330-foot-long ship with its mammoth bow door was devised to land high on the beaches, where it would unload its cargo of soldiers, jeeps and tanks.

The U.S. government gave the LST-325 to Greece in 1964 and the Greek navy used it for about 35 years until it was decommissioned and allowed to fall into disrepair. In 2000, it was turned over to a group of American veterans, many who had served on LSTs, who wished to restore it.

These men and other volunteers have continued to work on the restoration of the ship at a pier in Chickasaw, Ala., upriver from Mobile. The trip up the river serves as a fund raiser to continue the work.

The captain for this trip is Bob Jornlin, who served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war. Jornlin and his crew -- average age 72 -- sailed the ship back to the United States from Greece against the advice of the U.S. Coast Guard, who thought the ship was unsafe.

Jornlin served on two LSTs, mainly around the time of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, but not the 325 ship. He said a lot of work has been done on the 325 and that visitors can expect to see a ship that played a significant role in one of America's greatest wars.

"This ship won the war," Jornlin said. "Without them, there would not have been a landing at Normandy. We couldn't have taken all those islands in the Pacific without them. It wasn't easy. The Germans were throwing torpedoes at them and they had aircraft dive-bombing them."

The group needs about $500,000 to replace the bottom of the ship, which has been worn down by years of resting in salt water. They also need to replace some interior piping, to update the steering system and other miscellaneous work. All in all, Jornlin estimated the ship needs "a couple hundred" things.

Jornlin was quick to add that the ship is safe.

"Oh, yeah, she's seaworthy," he said, chuckling. "We're just wanting to raise some money to fix her up a bit. We love this old girl."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137