Barbara and I arrived in Mobile about 8:00 AM.  We stopped at the Royal Cafe for breakfast and also to see Kevin McCabe. He told us his wife is doing well after her recent illness.

We arrived aboard ship about 9:00 AM and we were happy to see Bill and Raine Rutledge, along with Bob and Rosemary Ostrander. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Jim Leib who served on the LST 522 during WWII and also met his son Doug. 

Lets not forget Ken Frank.  They were priming the rails on the main deck and by the time Barbara and I left about 3:00 PM they had just about all of them primed.

Bill Arras was there to show us the new ballast pumps which he had installed.

About 1:00 PM, Dreamworks representatives Rob Lorenz (executive producer), Jim O'Connell (marine coordinator), and Jack Taylor (art director).  Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks production company has shown interest in using the ship in its new movie "Flags of Our Fathers," to be directed by Clint Eastwood.  Click here to read more about this.

I took them on a complete tour of the ship and they took a lot of pictures and seemed very impressed.  They asked a lot of questions and again seemed satisfied with the answers.  Most of the questions were, "does it still work?," "are you going to finish painting the whole ship?," etc, etc.  They all left with a smile and we followed.

  ~ Ron Maranto
 

Everything has been going along fine on LST 325. We had a work week the first week of April, running into the second week with a Coast Guard inspection of all the tasks that have been completed on the ship. Sight gauges are installed on the settling tanks. Emergency lighting in main and auxiliary engine rooms have been added. All doors in the ship have dog wrenches. All watertight doors have been worked over, freed up, oiled and adjusted. Many of the dead-end wires have been removed or replaced. Gary Hendrickson and many others have worked hard on the main deck scuttles and vents. All of the scuttles open and close tight. One was rejected (forward of aux engine room, starboard side).  No one noticed that one of the hinges was cracked. A lot of work was put into getting the General Alarm working. Also the new intercom system was turned up and a longer emergency siren programmed in.  It has a battery backup and would work if electricity was interrupted. The General Alarm bells now work so we have two systems in case of emergency.  We lost one of our big antennae off the 03 level. It blew off on the port side and stuck in the mud, with about 4 feet sticking out. Our cowboy Bos’n Bruce Voges lassoed the end and pulled it aboard. This turned into a contest of throwing the "heaving" line. "Boats" prevailed, but not by much.

We have our docking agreement with Evansville in the final stages. A few, maybe two, in Evansville have suggested another place to dock the LST. Most of the LST Board did look at a site by Pigeon Creek and rejected it for many reasons. I will join Mayor Weinzapfel in a press conference April 21, 2005 to set straight some of the confusion surrounding the LST docking needs, the timetable for the completion of the Evansville dock site, eventual dry-docking needs, our mission, and our sailing to other cities every year.

We have been approached by the DreamWorks Movie production company about use of the ship in a planned movie titled "Flags of our Fathers." This is about the men that raised the second flag on Iwo Jima, the landing and battle in 1945. The representatives for the film are planning to visit the ship soon. 

We have a sailing crew for the East Coast Voyage, with licensed officers. Picking a crew is not an easy task and Bill Kaupas is to be thanked for doing all of the paper work. We have a very qualified and able-bodied crew of 40. The men were chosen for their abilities and expertise in engineering and seamanship. I realize that a few are disappointed that they were not selected. Many were big enough to take themselves out of the running as they knew of their physical shortcomings. I thank them for that. Safety of the crew and the ship is paramount for this voyage. A committee of seven made the crew selection; this does not put the burden solely on me and removes any personality differences. 

The East Coast Voyage is planned and the itinerary is holding fast. May 17, 2005 is our sailing time. We have an Annual Meeting planned for May 14, 2005 at Hook’s Terminal. Our lawsuit in Pennsylvania has been judged in our favor. This suit has gone on for three and one-half years and was filed by two former board members. They had sued for control of the Memorial board and ship, even though the present board has been re-elected three times by an almost unanimous vote.

Last is our money and fuel situation. Jim Anderson, Bob Ostrander, Dave Bronson, and others have done a superb job to inspire people to give to our cause. I thank all of you who have dug deep into your pockets so that this trip can be a reality. Many have not only given hours and hours to this ship, but many dollars in supplies, tools, and equipment. Many have spent a small fortune in gas just getting to and from the ship and all of the meetings that are necessary.

Our money supply is very tight unless some help with fuel can be arranged. We have several people working on getting fuel donated. We have gotten a nice donation from Shell Oil, but more is needed. Shell will bring 250 of their employees on board to tour the ship May 14, 2005. We plan on giving them our best tour of the ship.

     ~ Bob Jornlin
           Captain, LST 325

ATTENTION ALL HANDS! Posted 16 April 2005

THIS IS NOT A DRILL!  Your income tax has been filed (if it hasn't, it's too late anyway) and it's now time to get back to work.  BMC Bruce Voges is forming a work party on May 4th.  He asks that any voyage crewmembers arrive early, if at all possible.  And he'll also be glad to see anyone else who cares to chip in and lend a hand.  That gives us almost two full weeks to get Our Girl all ready to go to sea.  Let's give this mission all we've got and show 'em what we're made of!

Blue Peter is waving at YOU!

April 9, 2005

Dear LST 325 Supporter,

Monday, February 14, 2005, was Valentine’s Day but also a very special day in the life of LST 325 Ship Memorial.  We held a successful sea trial in Mobile Bay in preparation for the East Coast trip planned for this summer.  It was a glorious day and the ship performed well, the old engines reaching almost 10 knots at one point.  It was great to be ‘at sea’.  BRAVO ZULU to all of you who helped make this happen.

We recently held a board meeting in Evansville, IN – our new home port.  Preceding this meeting, we met with the mayor and members of the LST Committee in Evansville.  We learned about the plans for the proposed dock for the ship when it arrives there later this year.  We also visited the site and saw the ‘building on a barge’ that the Committee found for the gift shop, ticket center, and possibly an office.  We are finalizing the plans for the East Coast Voyage, which is coming up very soon.  We are working feverishly to get all the things done that we must do before we leave, including meeting all the USCG requirements which must be completed by April 17, 2005.  Most of our crew and the licensed officers have been selected.   We are planning ‘work weeks’ to complete all the projects. Numerous volunteers have been to the ship to work since the first of the year, but we can always use more. 

The crew will be assembled early in May to prepare for our scheduled departure from Mobile on May 17th.  Since so many of our members plan to be at the ship in May, the Annual Meeting for the membership of the LST Ship Memorial will be held on board the ship May 14, 2005.  Notices will be mailed to all members prior to that meeting with the particulars as our by-laws dictate. Our membership totals 1200 and we plan to increase that number dramatically by the end of this year.  These are exciting times for LST 325!

In the last issue of the Phoenix we reported a balance of about $95,000.00 in our accounts.  We have incurred many expenses since then for repairs and equipment, fuel for the sea trial, and numerous miscellaneous expenses including our daily dock fees and utilities.  We are now showing a balance of about $65,000 and are attempting to conserve spending wherever possible.  We anticipate initial expenditures for the East Coast Voyage to be $73,000 before costs can be recouped by the port of call events.  As you can see, we do not have enough funds to meet these initial expenses. 

This trip will draw many visitors to our ship, keep us in the public eye, increase our membership, restore interest in LST’s, honor veterans, and replenish our coffers.  We hesitate to ask again, but if you can see your way clear to give a  $10.00 or $20.00 donation, we would be very appreciative.  $20.00/member would add an additional $24,000 to our balance, $50/member = $60,000 etc., but you can do the math.  Recently a crewmember offered a 50% match to donations sent in which would increase the value of each gift.  That offer has expired, but maybe someone else would take on this challenge??   Whatever you decide to do, thank you for taking the time to read this letter and thank you for your continued interest in The USS LST Ship Memorial. 

Sincerely,

Robert Jornlin,
President, The USS LST Ship Memorial

P.S. Donations should be sent to THE USS LST SHIP MEMORIAL, INC. c/o American Savings Bank, PO Box 627, Danville, IL 61834.  Or, if you wish, you can make an online donation through the website using a credit card.  On behalf of the Board of Directors, the crew, and all volunteers, I thank you.

[Ed. note: If you're a member, you will be receiving this same letter by U.S. mail.  We apologize for any duplication.  But nobody will complain if you donate TWICE!  ]

We went to the ship on the 3rd of April and took the emergency lights the Coast Guard had requested.  We had them all installed by the end of the 4th, USCG approved. We had a great bunch of volunteers working to get the ship ready for the East Coast Voyage.  Some of them were Gary Henderson, Ad Mumford, Gary and Gayle Lyon, Bill Arras, Ben and Marilyn Butten, Bob Jornlin, Bruce Voges, Ralph Bryant, Bill Rockney, Cal and Pearl Ellison, Bob and Rosemary Ostrander, and James and Doris Edwards.  I’m sure I forgot someone, but they know who they are and we THANK them all.

The ladies fixed a good lunch each day of sandwiches, salads, and soups.  You sure can’t beat that!!

We had a few visitors and some of the guys did tours.  We had one group of about 35.  They didn’t have us on their schedule, but some were LSTers that wanted to see the ship, so they came and seemed to enjoy it.  They were quite generous with their donations and buying from the gift shop.

I toured a lady and her husband from St. Jacob, Ill. (Jeane and Doyle Moore).  Her father was one of the original 325 crew who died when she was about thirteen.  She had a few pictures and his enlistment papers when he was in the Navy, but that’s all she had, and she was thrilled to see where her father spent his time in the service.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get his name but I'm still trying.  She is supposed to email me, maybe I can find out then.

We had another inspection by the Coast Guard, and there are still items to be done, but nothing we can’t do.

     ~ James Edwards, LST 325 XO
 

Click on any of the images for enlargements

James Edwards with Jeane & Doyle Moore

New emergency light in the engine room

Gary Lyon checks for any sparks ...

Online Ship's Store shopping will be temporarily discontinued effective the end of this month and for the duration of the East Coast Voyage and our subsequent relocation to Evansville.  The onboard Ship's Store will remain open for business as usual.

The good news is: we now have new 2005 items (caps, t-shirts and sweatshirts).  The tee's and sweats are very similar to their 2004 counterparts.  The ballcap is completely different.  It's sort of an olive drab or khaki color with a nicely-embroidered haze gray LST with "LST 325" above the ship and "LAST OF THE CLASS" beneath.  The bill is denim blue.  They really look pretty sharp.  Caps are $15, tee's are $15 and sweats are $25.

The bad news is: somebody (maybe even me) apparently got Jonathan riled up once more and he attacked my main computer again ... in a big way.  So it's going to take a little time to get pictures posted on the Ship's Store page.  I hope to be able to do that within the next week. In the meanwhile, if anyone wants to order any of these 2005 items based upon the descriptions here, please email me and let me know.  You'll still be able to utilize online ordering, but we'll need to coordinate the details via email to get your order right.

The main thing is that online ordering will be disabled on May 1, "for the duration."  So if you want to use it for purchasing items, please do so before that date.  After that, and until we get to Evansville, items will be available only on board the ship.

     ~ LST 325 WebSkipper

P.S. at 0800Z, 08 APR 2005: I just transferred this photo from my camera to my laptop, so you can see what the new cap looks like.  You can click on the photo for a larger image.

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!

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Archives:

Archive for March 2005:

• 30 MAR 05 - Honoring BMC John Kinney
• 27 MAR 05 - Midway Home Report from Kenny & Anna Adams
• 25 MAR 05 - Evansville Update from Mike Whicker
• 22 MAR 05 - LST Ship Memorial Board Meeting, March 19, 2005, Evansville, In.
• 17 MAR 05 - In Memoriam, Howard William (Bill) Russell
• 13 MAR 05 - In Memoriam, John & Bobbye LeMaster
• 12 MAR 05 - Progress Report from Kenny & Anna Adams
• 10 MAR 05 - Sea Trial Pictures from Ralph Bryant
• 09 MAR 05 - Four Evansville Students to be Crewmembers
• 07 MAR 05 - New LST-325 To-Do List
• 07 MAR 05 - New Crewmembers Added
• 04 MAR 05 - Official Sea Trial Report
• 02 MAR 05 - Notice to Volunteers
• 02 MAR 05 - Blocked Newsletters
• 01 MAR 05 - In Memoriam, CDR Lloyd Kurz (USS LST 325)
• 01 MAR 05 - In Memoriam, Dr. Harold Gourley (USS LST 866)
• 01 MAR 05 - LST-325 Required Maintenance Lists
• 01 MAR 05 - LST-325 Sea Trial Crew (16 FEB 05)

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