Progress Report from Dominick Perruso
with Jim McCandrew & Corbin Fowkes
Dated 28 November 2002

Report of installation of sewage system and installation of new PVC plastic soil lines

This past summer Jim McCandrew phoned me and had mentioned that he would be going to Mobile for the month of November to be OD, relieving Bailey Wrinkle.  Jim wanted to know if I would be able to make a trip to my brother-in-law's home in Winter Springs, FL, and he would pick me up there.  He had also contacted Corbin Fowkes and would be picking him up too.  I accepted, as I have been unable to get to Mobile on the 325 because of two back operations.  I checked with my wife Dottie and my surgeon, and received OK's from the both of them.  I left my wife and dog Mingy at Winter Spring, FL.  Jim McCandrew and Corbin Fowkes arrived on Oct. 29, and we had to use my van as we did not have enough room in his vehicle.  We arrived in Mobile on Oct. 30.  After staying at a motel overnight, we went to the Brookley Center to register and then we went to Hook's Terminal and went aboard the 325. 

Bailey Wrinkle was OD for the month of October.  Jim and I left Bailey Wrinkle and Corbin Fowkes together, as Corbin would be OD and tour guide for the month of November, and there was a lot that Corbin would have to know about.  Also, Bruce Voges was on board along with his daughter and son in-law and two friends.  They were doing the welding  on the new rails on the port side, doing a great job.  Bruce was busy as usual, cleaning up and painting.  Then Jim and I went below to assess what work had to be done. 

Before going below we were introduced to Bill Arras.  Bill went down to the tank deck with us and pointed out the soil lines that were leaking and would have to be replaced.  The main line overhead from the officers' head was leaking.   I said to him that it was not leaking on our trip home because Al White had a clothes line strung from port to starboard bulkheads.  He said, "Well, it's leaking now" and I said, "OK, we will replace it," which we did.  We also replaced a section of the soil line from the capped head as well as other soil lines.  We also separated the gray water and black water installed isolation valves in line, so in the event we have to discharge overboard it will be no problem from time to time.  Bill Arras and I discussed what and where different lines and equipment should be located. 

Without going any further, I want to mention what a great help Bill Arras has been to me and LST 325, as a Blue Crew member, he is a great asset and the knowledge that this man has is remarkable.  I have met many intelligent men in my time, but I must mention that Bill ranks on the top of the list. 

On Nov. 1 and 2, I went aboard at 0700.  Corbin was OD, and Jim and I went below to go to work.  The first thing was to remove the effective soil line from the officers' head.  This is all overhead work, so we had a scaffold on wheels with planks.  Without this our job would have been a lot more difficult.  There are so many people and organizations that have come to our aid, and some get missed along the way, but I want to give a special thanks to Harold Slemmons.  It was mentioned to him by Gary Lyon that we needed a scaffold, and on his return to the 325 he delivered it. 

There is another member of the Blue Crew who stands out.  He is always there when you need him, Dan Toole.  We just mentioned to him what we needed aong the lines of welding, and it would be done.  We all became great friends.  Dan has spent countless hours working aboard LST 325, and I understand he sold his home and moved to Mobile in order to be closer to the ship.  Dan had removed the aft stairway on the starboard side, as we had to install new surge and holding tanks, along with the new ORCA sewage treatment system. 

We had a working party come aboard from the Navy SB.  They reinstalled the stairway and bolted it to flanges.  This was to give us access to our surge tank.  They also did other welding, like welding 3" pipe through the starboard bulkhead.  This was where we screwed flanges to connect to discharge overboard.  They also welded a 1-1/2" coupling in a 4" fire line overhead, where we installed a valve to continue the line to the ORCA treatment system.  This system requires a minimum of 40 psi during operation.  I understand that when this is discharged overboard it is drinkable (do I have any volunteers?).  Jim and I continued to remove defective soil pipe and replace it with PVC Schedule 40 plastic pipe. 

We worked seven days a week.  We did take a day off on Nov. 11 to give tribute to Capt. Hal Pierce.  He was to be presented the Veteran of the Year Award.  Present were Dominick Perruso, Jim McCandrew, Corbin Fowkes, Gary & Gayle Lyon, Ron & Barbara Maranto, Harold & Maxine Slemmons, Joe & Drucilla Milakovich, Jim Bartlett and Bill Arras.  It was a great tribute to Hal Pierce.

On Nov. 12, Dan Toole completed the stairway he had to prefabricate with hand rails.  He also welded the surge tank and the ORCA unit to the tank deck.  We still have a lot of piping work to do, but I think we are on schedule and will be done before the end of the month.

I mentioned that there are many companies and individuals that have to be thanked for their contributions, including many supply houses in the Mobile area.  And certainly not to be overlooked is ENVIROVAC INC., especially Shirley Fredericks, Sales Manager for marine systems.  We have been in contact both by phone and by E-mail.  I requested manuals for the ORCA system to prepare me for the installation.  She immediately sent them out via UPS, and I had the manuals before I left Pennsylvania.  Shirley Fredericks had briefed me on the operation and said to contact her if I had any problems.  When I reviewed the drawings, I found a change I thought should be made.  I contacted her by E-mail and gave her my E-mail address and phone number here in Florida.  I do not believe how fast she responded.  I do not think the ink had dried on printer when the phone rang.  Shirley Frederick was on the line with her engineer on another phone, and we discussed the problem, and they said they would get an updated drawing to me.  I gave her a fax number and two hours later I had the drawing. 

The other person I want to thank is Gary Lyon.  He and Gayle came aboard early this year.  He was a great help in securing supplies that we needed, and he was always there to give a helping hand.  Gary was completing the wiring for the ORCA unit.  He and Bill Arras will have to contact authorized representatives from ORCA to check the unit out and perform tests to the satisfaction of Coast Guard.  There is a usually a charge for this, but not to us.  Shirley Fredericks stated that they feel like they are a part of the ship, and would help in whatever way they could.

On Nov. 22, We worked a half-day, cleaned up our tools and said our "Au so longs."  We are leaving at 0500 tomorrow. 

MISSION COMPLETED! 

  ~ Dominick R. Perruso (Pop), 
      with Jim McCandrew & Corbin Fowkes, 
        LST 325 Gold Crew

Captain's Update Dated 20 November 2002 Capt. Bob Jornlin, CO, LST 325

[Ed. note: The first three paragraphs below are the same as in the 16 OCT 02 report.  Following that is all-new material.]

 James Edwards
 William Kaupas
 Robert Jornlin
 Bruce Voges
 Don Chapman
 Ed Strobel
 James Bartlett

Following the membership meeting, the Board of Directors Meeting was held.  Election of officers for the coming year:
 

A Project Coordinator for the ship was discussed to assure continuity in the restoration efforts and see that all projects meet Coast Guard requirements.  Since that meeting, Bill Arras, a long time Blue Crew volunteer on the ship, has accepted this position.  He has total control over the projects being done, scheduling of work, and personnel working on the ship.

We received word of a donor for a Public Address system and are in the process of finding the right unit to fit our needs.  Specifics concerning the River Trip including itinerary, requirements for crew, and uniforms were discussed.  A committee to select the crew was appointed.

Other news: General Motors has agreed to furnish the parts to repair the main engines.  Stewart-Stevenson has agreed to repair and provide the labor for the engines at no cost to us.  Work is to begin around the first of December on the engines.  We are grateful for their support. We have an emergency generator, 140KW with only 600 hours on the engine, thanks to George Katakis, of Toledo, OH.  He attended an auction and, after some quick phone calls, managed to bid successfully on our behalf.  George is also making arrangements with Ron Spoerl to transport the generator to Mobile.

The Marine Sanitation system is being installed by Dominick Perruso and his crew.  The aft 1/3 of the tank deck has been pressure washed, primed, and painted thanks to Mr. Voges and his crew.  They also worked on the lifelines.  Work on the port side ladder to the O1 level was done by Dan Toole.  It has been widened and lengthened.  Jim McCandrew and Corbin Fowkes are at the ship for the month of November.  Gary and Gayle Lyon are in Mobile now and will be working on the ship from December through March.  On a sad note, we have learned of the passing of Blue Crew member Dewey Hardy, on November 3rd.  The LST 325 played a significant role in his life these past two years until his health declined.  Memorials for Dewey were given to the ship, so we send our thanks as well as our sincere sympathy to his family.

As you know, Mike and Linda Gunjak went to Hawaii for the October 5th Decommissioning Ceremony for the USS Frederick, LST 1184, the last active LST in the Navy.  Upon their return, they sent the LST Ship Memorial an American flag that was flown on the USS Frederick on October 3, 2002, two color photographs of the ship, the Frederick's "Welcome Aboard" pamphlet, and an official program from the Decommissioning Ceremony.  We thank them for these memorable contributions for our museum.

Captain Hal Pierce, who helped us find Mobile as a port, was given Veteran of the Year Award in Mobile.  He has worked endlessly for the LST 325 as well as for veteran's causes for many years.  We congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition.  Several of the crew attended the ceremony on Veteran's Day to honor Hal.

A meeting with the Coast Guard is scheduled for December 9th to firm up the plans and requirements needed for the River Trip in 2003.  The River Cruise will be an historic event as a WWII LST has not traveled up the Mississippi since 1945, when LST 512 made the trip.  It was crewed by the Navy to encourage the sale of War Bonds to support military efforts in WWII.  It had a full complement of men and Marines on board.  German and Japanese memorabilia were displayed, including a mockup of the Burma jungle with Japanese snipers in the trees.  I was 8 years old then, and had an opportunity to tour the LST 512 in Ottawa.  It was impressive.  I think LST 325 will be just as impressive as it pulls into the nine scheduled stops for this trip.  I have people from northern Illinois that say they will come to see it and they are over 200 miles from the closest ports.  This will be a great event for all LST veterans and for all the 1051 LST's built in WWII.  The University of Illinois marketing class has volunteered to promote our River Trip as a learning exercise.  Bruce Voges has been instrumental in coordinating that effort.

Probably the most difficult task ahead is selecting a crew for the trip.  We can take only 40 men, limited by our requirements and physical facilities.  The committee will select crew based on abilities, physical capabilities, and those who have staunchly supported and helped with this project from the beginning.  We are concerned that everyone will want to be involved and that is just not possible.  We wish we could take everyone, but we cannot.  There will be other trips planned.  Perhaps at some time we can schedule short passenger cruises out of Mobile, but there are many more requirements for passenger ships.  We frankly do not have the funds at this point to make that happen.

On a personal note, I have found the ship so time-consuming that I have decided to quit farming after this year in order to be able to devote more time to the LST 325.  I can't tell you the number of hours our crew and other volunteers have contributed to making this restoration possible.  I have had the opportunity to give several talks in the past month in Michigan, Tennessee, and several Illinois cities.  Others are doing the same.

I want to continue to thank all those who have contributed time and money to the restoration.  You must come and see this grand old lady coming up the river, not to mention the grand old men who will be manning her!

  ~ Bob Jornlin,
        CO, LST 325

IN MEMORIAM, DEWEY HARDY
Dated 18 November 2002

We regret to announce the passing of dedicated Blue Crew member Dewey Hardy on November 3, as a result of lung disease.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, who have graciously requested that memorials go to LST 325. 

Progress Report from Ron Maranto
Dated 14 November 2002

WHAT A DAY!  I just arrived home from Mobile's Veterans Day Award Ceremony.  General Wesley K. Clark, USA, was awarded Patriot of the Year, and Captain Hal Pierce was awarded Veteran of the Year.  Gold Crew that attended the celebration were Gary and Gayle Lyon, Joe and Drucilla Milakovich, Harold and Maxine Slemmons, Ron and Barbara Maranto, Dominick Perruso, Jim McCandrew, Corbin Fowkes, and Jim Bartlett, along with Bill Arras of the Blue Crew. 

Gen. Clark served as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, from 10 July 1997 through 3 May 2000. He was also the Commander in Chief of the U.S. European Command.  He gave a lengthy talk, but held our attention the whole time.  Capt. Pierce, of course, is our earthly savior.  Had it not been for him, we would probably still be anchored 12 miles out.  He gave a SHORT appreciation address to those who were involved in nominating him for the award. 

Monday morning Gary, Gayle, Barbara and I went to our favorite place for breakfast, The Royal Street Cafe.  Kevin McCabe is the owner of the cafe and has always given the 325 crew special attention.  Not to forget his waitress Lakeeta (sp?), who always greets us with hugs when we arrive and when we leave.  Kevin has dedicated a wall in his cafe to pictures of the 325 crew and ship. 

Perruso, McCandrew, and Fowkes are on duty this month.  They are working on the sewage system.  I didn't have time to go aboard to take pictures of their progress this trip, but I'm sure I'll have lots to show next trip.  I couldn't do much because it rained the whole time. 

I would like to extend an apology to two very dedicated Blue Crew members.  Charlie and Jean Marking arrived in Mobile on Oct. 6th and worked on the ship until they left on Nov. 2nd.  When they came aboard they said there was a lot of progress made since they were last here in Feb.  Jean went to work helping Pearl in the wardroom selling merchandise, and keeping the officers country and galley in ship-shape.  Charlie met Bill Arras for the first time and Bill put him to work right on the spot, along with Matt Mattoon lowering the centrifuge unit into the aux engine room and setting it into place.  Charlie also made new gaskets for all the flanges and connected all the piping to the unit.  His next project was high on the priority list, getting the air compressors lowered into the main engine room, mounting and running them.  Charlie and Larry Johnson cleaned the mounting platforms and Vance Barnes did the painting.  Walter Isham and Charlie removed the reduction gear cooling and lube pumps, and then hoisted them out to the tank deck to be overhauled.  They also cleaned and painted the mounting base before the installation of the rebuilt ones.  Then Charlie also cleaned the fire pump mounting in the main engine room.  The rebuilt pump will be installed after the mounting gets painted.  His next job was in the aux engine room disassembling the fire pump to be overhauled.  And with all that, he conducted numerous tours.  The largest groups were on Sat. and Sun.  Well, Charlie and Jean, I would say you did a very full month of October!  Thank you for a job well done.  Their parting words as they left for their Indiana home were, "WE'LL BE BACK," and they will be most welcome.

     ~ Ron Maranto
 

The second week in October, my brother and I drove our parents to Mobile to visit the LST.  It was all my father talked about for weeks.  He served on three LST's in WWII, commanding the last.  While there, Michael Sullivan graciously showed us around every inch of the ship, while my brother and I snapped shots.

Please pass along my thanks to Michael, and ask him (and others) to look at http://www.sulkin.net/lstgallery2/ where I've put up the photos I shot.  (My brother still hasn't gotten his shots to me.)  If he'll let me know which shots he wants, I'll have prints made.

Thank you,

  ~ Danny Sulkin

[Ed. note:  Mr. Sulkin's photo page is definitely worth a visit.  The presentation -- as an automated slideshow -- is top-notch, and the photos present a virtual tour of the ship.  It's very impressive!]

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 October 2002:

• 30 OCT 02 - Progress Report from Ron Maranto
• 27 OCT 02 - Progress Report from Michael Smith
• 24 OCT 02 - Report from Hichael Nedeff
• 24 OCT 02 - Research Tips from Sharon Lawrence
• 24 OCT 02 - Congressional Response from Ohio
• 16 OCT 02 - Synopsis of Meetings
• 09 OCT 02 - Quality Support ... Sixty Years Later!
• 08 OCT 02 - Progress Report from James Edwards
• 05 OCT 02 - Report from Merton "Red" Lake
• 05 OCT 02 - Lost & Found from Vance Barnes

• 29 SEP 02 - Progress Report from Michael Smith
• 25 SEP 02 - Update from Ron Maranto
• 25 SEP 02 - Report from Paul Hannie
• 19 SEP 02 - Minutes of Meeting — August 30, 2002
• 18 SEP 02 - A Note from Your WebSkipper
• 13 SEP 02 - Another Urgent Contact Request from Capt. Bob Jornlin
• 12 SEP 02 - Thanks for Your Wonderful Support!
• 12 SEP 02 - A Visit from Bob & Bernie Alferi
• 12 SEP 02 - FREE LST Books Now Available
• 12 SEP 02 - Michael Smith's New LST Website
• 12 SEP 02 - Donation Requested for Radio Room Project
• 07 SEP 02 - URGENT: Your Email Support Needed THIS WEEKEND!
• 07 SEP 02 - LST Memorial Service Remarks by Capt. Kevin Schumacher
• 04 SEP 02 - Update from Michael Smith
• 04 SEP 02 - LST 325 Slide Show Now Available!

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