Ship manned by WWII veterans returns from river voyage

The Associated press

MOBILE, Ala. -- The LST-325, with its crew of World War II veterans, returned to its homeport of Mobile, Ala., capping a 78-day voyage on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers that raised $500,000 for its future as a museum vessel.

The ship arrived at about 2:45 a.m. Tuesday and moved to its home berth at Hooks Terminal in Chickasaw, Ala., later in the day, completing a journey of 3,150 miles.

While LST-325 easily surpassed its goal of earning $500,000 in donations and souvenir sales, its captain, Robert D. Jornlin, 64, of Earlville, Ill., said the experience of the trip was "priceless."

The LST-325 participated in the Normandy invasion as well as the invasions of Sicily and Salerno during World War II.

A group of 28 gray-haired veterans first brought the LST-325 to Mobile in early 2001, after the ship had been decommissioned from service in the Greek Navy.

That trans-Atlantic trip from Gibraltar covered 4,350 miles and gained worldwide attention.

The United States gave the LST-325 to Greece in 1964, and the Greek Navy used it for 35 years before giving it to the veterans group.

Jornlin said more than 70 people served as crew members at different times during the river trip, and about 28 were aboard in Mobile for the end of the voyage.

"Veterans who served on LSTs and the widows of veterans who served on LSTs would come on the ship and shake your hand and thank you for bringing it to their city. They might have stood in line for two hours in the hot sun, but they would tour the ship and come out with a smile on their face," Jornlin said.

Jornlin said he plans to take a couple of weeks to rest. Then he'll start planning for a voyage up the East Coast to Boston next summer.

Tuesday night, two volunteer crewmen were treated for burns after a minor electrical fire on board.

An 81-year-old man had moderate burns on his face, upper chest and arms, said Jeff Ludlam, a Saraland fire department spokesman said. A 77-year-old man had minor burns on his face.

The men, both from Pennsylvania, were putting a fuse into a fuse box when a "flash of flame" exploded, Ludlam said. They were taken to the University of South Alabama Medical Center and were in stable condition, he said. Their names were not immediately released.

The river journey, which began in Chickasaw in early June, included visits to Vicksburg, Miss.; and Greenville, Miss.; as well as Memphis, Tenn.; Cape Girardeau, Mo.; St. Louis; Paducah, Ky.; Evansville, Ind.; Jeffersonville, Ind.; and New Orleans.

By far the biggest crowds to see the ship were in Evansville and Jeffersonville, where thousands of LSTs -- or landing ship, tank -- were built during World War II.

Some 27,500 people toured the LST-325 in Evansville during its 11-day stay there. More than 20,000 people toured the ship in Jeffersonville over four days.

The vessels were designed to run right up on a beach and disgorge troops, vehicles and other equipment directly on shore.