The LST SHIP MEMORIAL BOARD voted at its last meeting on Dec. 6, 2003, to send out letters to certain cities in the US, mostly in the Midwest or central Gulf Coast regions, in hopes of finding a new place to dock the LST 325.  We are looking for a city that will provide a free docking site, revenue for the ship, will promote the ship as a tourist attraction, provide utilities, parking, security and show a desire to have LST 325 as part of their community.  Letters were sent to the mayors of the following cities:

• Paducah, KY
• Cincinnati, OH
• Jeffersonville, IN
• Peoria, IL
• Vicksburg, MS
• Pensacola, FL
• Mobile, AL
• St. Louis, MO
• Evansville, IN

We have been in the Chickasaw/Mobile, AL, area for three years.  We have paid all of the docking fees, expenses,and repairs with money raised from donations and admission fees.  We have received a lot of help from the local merchants, companies, and individuals with repairs and materials.  We have been blessed with so many great volunteers that have put untold hours of work on the ship.  The LST 325 has brought an unbelievable number of LST reunion groups, Veterans' groups and visitors from all over the US that would not have come to this area except for the ship.  They have stayed in motels and hotels, dined in the restaurants, and shopped.  This was true on our arrival on Jan 10, 2001, and has continued.  This spring the ARMED GUARD will be at the ADAM'S MARK, along with a 30-man LST group.  This Summer in June, THE MILITARY VEHICLE PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION will be at the MARK.  The "T" will be in Boston, I am sorry to say, because it was one of the reasons the MVPA picked Mobile.  The LST has been in their magazine several times and the "Crew" received their "Good Driver Award" at the USS LST REUNION in Sept. of 2001, which had about 1400 in attendance -- all to see the LST!  For all of this we have not received any revenue.

The man who has provided our docking all of this time has been nothing but great.  He is a business man and can rent the space to others.  The ship does not give him new business or increase his profits.  He has become a good friend to the ship, to many of the volunteers, and to me. I hope that he understands that the LST must find a free place to berth as well as a better economical environment.

  ~ Bob Jornlin, President
       USS LST SHIP MEMORIAL, INC.

Several items today:

1.  Due to drydock schedule changes, the 2004 Crew Application deadline (postmark) has been moved to 07 FEB.  The Board will accept applications after that date, but they will only be considered after those submitted on time.

2.  The Board of Directors will be meeting 14 FEB in Mobile for their First Quarter 2004 Board Meeting.

3.  We currently anticipate going into drydock 23 FEB at Bender's Shipyard and Repairs in Mobile.

4.  Sea trials are tentatively scheduled for the last week in April.

5.  The plan is for Anchors Aweigh on 24 MAY 2004.

6.  The U.S. Coast Guard has conditionally issued approval for the 2004 Voyage.  We have received this approval contingent upon meeting various life safety standards for operations of the vessel, and the protection of life and property.  We are convinced that these standards can be met or exceeded.  The dry dock period will prove to be a critical decision point when it comes to adequately assessing the meeting of these standards, but at this point we are more than optimistic.

Best regards,

     ~ Bill Kaupas

Dated 19 JAN 2004, Posted 23 JAN 2004

It's been quite a stretch since my last progress report or visit to the ship, so I was quite eager to get over to Mobile.  MLK holiday provided the first opportunity in weeks.  I arrived early and found Rosemary Ostrander already aboard and heating up the wardroom.  Bob Ostrander was not far behind and he headed below to get the power going to all the ship’s lights.  Jim Bartlett and Bailey Wrinkle are also currently working aboard the ship. 

Jim Bartlett took a few minutes to show me some of the work that has been going on in the Main Engine Room.  Marine Systems of Houma, LA, has been installing pneumatic controls for the engines.  The units will control both the engine throttle and the clutches.  There will also be a control unit in the wheel house, so the engines can be controlled directly from that location.  This will reduce the workload on the guys on watch in the engine room, as they will only have to tend to the engines and not have to answer orders for changes of speed.  Plus, engine responses will be considerably faster.  New alarms for the engines (low pressure, high temp, etc.) will most likely be installed in both engine rooms.  Both engines are now running and the engineers continue to make good progress.

Ben Butler was the man on chipping duty for the day.  He made excellent progress on the exterior of officer’s country when everyone else was trying to stay out of the cold and rainy weather.  He said he was warm natured anyway.  Ben commented that he was just hoping the engineers wouldn’t be "borrowing" the air compressors because then his chipping hammer wouldn’t run! 

Jim Emarine, Jim Threlkeld and Gay Rudrud were tackling various plumbing chores.  When I caught up to them they were fixing the drains in the Officer’s Pantry.  They were glad to see me because a while back Gary Lyon had taken their picture while they were relaxing on the back of a truck.  Their friends and family wanted to know if that’s all they did.  Well, let the pictures show these guys are great workers.  After the Officer’s Pantry I saw them in the vicinity of the water-heated serving tables in the galley.  These weren’t working on the Heartland cruise, maybe they will for the trip up the coast!

Around midday, Mr. Tim Stewart arrived for a meeting with Jim Bartlett.  Tim will be helping to assure that the ship will be able to meet all of the Coast Guard requirements for the trip this summer.  Tim spent many years in the Coast Guard and understands the regulations and ships very well.  Jim and Tim set out to tour the ship and make a list of things that must be addressed while the ship is in drydock.  This was a great learning experience for me to observe because both of these guys know a tremendous amount about shipboard systems and keeping everything running as it should.

New volunteers have been coming out, but there is always room for more.  As you can see, things continue to progress nicely aboard the LST 325.

    ~ Michael Smith

TWO ARTICLES FROM ROCKY & DIANNE HILL
Posted 22 January 2004
 
 

Eating Ice Cream and  Spreading the Word Submitted by Rocky Hill Dianne and I were privileged to have Kenny and Anna Adams come visit us here in sunny (??) Arizona.  What a week of visiting and showing off our countryside.  One such place was Jerome, AZ, which was a thriving copper mining town in the 1920's.  After browsing the shops, we stopped at the Ice Cream Parlour.  (Where else would you find Kenny and me after a day of hard work?).  While in the parlour, a gentleman observed the LST T-shirt that I was wearing.  The gentleman asked me if I had served on that ship, and of course that opened the door for the "Rest of the Story."

Enjoying delicious Arizona ice cream and each other's company are (l. to r.): Ellis DeLay, Rocky Hill, Ken & Anna Adams and Bev Delay

     ~ Rocky Hill
 

Recruiting Session  held at Surprise, AZ Hosted by Rocky & Dianne Hill On January 16th, while Kenny and Anna Adams were visiting, we decided to hold a recruiting session for the 2004 East Coast Cruise.  In attendance along with the Hill's and Adam's, were Ken & Betty Knight, Pat Johnston, and Ellis & Bev DeLay.  After much wining and dining, Rocky was able to secure several signatures, and as you can see by the pictures, all had a good time!.      ~ Rocky & Dianne Hill [Ed. note: Looks to me like they did more eating and rag-chewing than anything else.  Oh yeah, and thanks for the invite, Rocky!]

Enjoying a bite to eat are (clockwise, beginning at left) Kenny Adams, Pat Johnston,  Dianne Hill, Bev DeLay, Ellis DeLay,  Betty Knight, Ken Knight,  Rocky Hill and Anna Adams

Enjoying the patio shade are Ken Knight,  Kenny Adams, Betty Knight,  Pat Johnston, Bev DeLay and Ellis DeLay

Rocky Hill (seated and looking pretty pleased with himself!) with recruits  Elllis DeLay, Kenny Adams,  Pat Johnston and Ken Knight,

CREWMEMBER APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2004 EAST COAST TRIP ARE NOW AVAILABLE YOU MUST ACT FAST!  SUBMISSIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY 26 JAN 2004! DEADLINE POSTPONED TO 07 FEB 2004! Posted 08 January 2004

Application packets are now available for downloading for propspective 2004 crewmembers.  A downloadable ZIP file contains a cover letter, a proposed itinerary, an application, a list of Conditions for Voluntary Participation and a Code of Conduct/Crewmember agreement.  To be considered, these forms must be filled out, signed and postmarked no later than 26 JAN  07 FEB.  Faxes or emails cannot be accepted -- we must have original signatures.

If for any reason you are unable to download or extract files from the ZIP file, you may email Bill Kaupas at bkaupas@msn.com, and he will mail you a packet via regular mail.  He should also be contacted if you have any questions about the forms or procedures.

The packet may be downloaded by clicking here.

Let's go sailing!  We'll be hoisting the Blue Peter before you know it!

A TERRIFIC DONATION FROM NCP COATINGS, INC. Posted 02 January 2004

NCP Coatings, Inc. of Niles, Michigan, a supplier of high-grade paints to the US NAVY and marine operations, has donated over 130 gallons of haze gray and deck gray paint to the ship.  Not only that, they are also covering the shipping charges!  The company was very impressed with the success of the crew in the ongoing restoration efforts of the LST and praised all involved in the tremendously successful 2003 America's Heartland Cruise.  The paint will be delivered to the ship around the first week of February, just about the time Chief Bos'un Bruce Voges arrives.  Chief Voges was overheard saying, "I love the smell of fresh deck paint in the morning."  NCP Coatings is proud to be a sponsor of LST-325 and the Memorial's Board of Director's are equally proud to be associated with NCP Coatings.  We thank you, NCP Coatings, President C. M. "Neil" Hannewyk III and your team of employees, for your kind words and corporate spirit of giving to the navy veteran community.

Best regards, 

    ~ Bill Kaupas
           Secretary, The USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc.

A personal note from the WebSkipper:  I'd like to encourage absolutely anybody and everybody to provide material for this page.  By no means are submissions here restricted to just certain individuals.  The whole purpose of this website (and especially this particular page) is to share information about our LST Memorial with the entire community.  Sitting here 2,000 miles away, I personally don't have a clue what's happening aboard the ship unless somebody tells me.  To date, I've posted absolutely every single tidbit of information that's come my way.  If you have any news to share at all, please just send me an email:  WebSkipper@LSTMemorial.Org -- all of us would be very appreciative, and we all want to know what's going on!

Legend:

Archives:

Archive for December 2003:

• 18 DEC 03 - Update from "The Love Boat" from Pat Johnston and Mary Lou Hatin
• 09 DEC 03 - Captains's Update
• 01 DEC 03 - A Big Chiefs' Pow-Wow from Cal Ellison

• 25 NOV 03 - Greetings from an Overseas Mate!
• 24 NOV 03 - Holiday Ship Closure
• 24 NOV 03 - Commemorative LST 325 Tapes
• 11 NOV 03 - Progress Report from Bill Kaupas
• 02 NOV 03 - Progress Report from Bill Kaupas

CDR Jackson Carter was LST 325's Executive Officer before and during the voyage back from Greece.  In addition to his normal duties, he was an avid ham radio operator and enjoyed communicating during his down-time with other hams all over the world.  He also maintained a website for LST 325 which included all of his situation reports, as well as  many photographs showing the hard work done in Greece getting the ship seaworthy – that site is a must-see for anyone who hopes to understand what it took to bring this ship home.  Most importantly, Mr. Carter was one of the finest human beings one could ever hope to meet.  He passed away just five weeks after finally realizing his dream.  This website now carries on the work – and the dream – where he left off, and in his memory.  Thanks, Jack ... for being you.    Fair winds!

In Memoriam Jackson Carter