By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent PEORIA, Ill. — A biodiesel-fueled LST (Landing Ship, Tank) will dock at three Illinois River port towns during the ship’s annual summer cruise in order to bring attention to the sacrifices made by veterans of all foreign wars and to promote renewable fuel sources.
The ship, which calls Evansville, Ind. its home, will dock for public tours in Peoria, Alton and Henry. It will cruise the Illinois River powered by a 20 percent blend of biodiesel, according to the Illinois Soybean Assoc. (ISA).
Launched in October 1942, the ship christened the LST-325 saw service in World War II. It was later used in Arctic operations as the USNS LST-35 before being acquired by the Greek Navy and rechristened the L-144.
It will begin its journey in Evansville on Aug. 17 and wind its way through the Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois rivers before arriving in Peoria on Aug. 20. The ship will depart Peoria for Henry on Aug. 29, arriving at around noon. The vessel will dock in Henry until Sept. 5, when it will depart for Alton, arriving the next morning. The ship will remain in Alton until Sept. 11.
“We worked on getting LST-325 to Peoria in order to show people what it was like to serve on one of these ships,” said Bud Ruff, a local organizer who helped bring the ship to Peoria. “LSTs were used during WWII, Korea and the Vietnam conflict and could be found in all military branches. Most LSTs were either scrapped or given to other countries.”
According to ISA, many LSTs were manufactured in Seneca, Ill. along the Illinois River and young farmers were often recruited to work on the ships due to their skills with a variety of machinery (LST-325 was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard). The LST is an amphibious vessel designed to land battle-ready tanks, troops and supplies directly onto enemy shores, according to the LST-325’s website www.lstmemorial.org
The vessel was acquired by the USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc., in 2000. It was the object of worldwide media attention when its crew of around 30 war veterans guided the ship on a 6,500 mile journey from the Greek isle of Crete to Mobile, Ala. After its arrival the LST-325 was restored and now serves as a museum for the men who served on LSTs.
During WWII, the LST-325 and its crew were assigned to duties in the Bay of Tunis to prepare for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. The crew made a total of six runs to Sicily in support of the offensive, twice retrieving Italian prisoners.
In 1943 while in Tunisia, four crew members were injured during an air raid one week before the ship sailed as part of the Northern Attack Force in support of the invasion at Salerno, Italy. Injuries to crew members were sustained during that operation, as well.
In November 1943, several of the ship’s transport vessels were sunk as the ship came under attack by German bombers, and one crew member was severely injured. The ship sailed to England, where it remained until 1944.
On June 7, 1944 the LST-325 arrived to serve as back-up force for the troops going ashore at Omaha Beach during the Allied invasion on Normandy, France. Between June 1944 and April 1945 the ship made 44 trips between England and France.
This farm news was published in the Aug. 22, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
