WW II troop landing ship visits Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH — Ellen Huston stood on the shore of the Ohio River, an American flag in hand, and looked at the ship stretching the length of a football field in front of her. Then she thought of her father, now deceased, who served on a ship like this in World War II.
"He would have loved to have been here this morning," said Huston, 55, of Berwyn, holding back tears. "I tell ya, it's something to see."
Huston was one of many who came to the confluence of Pittsburgh's three rivers Wednesday morning to welcome the LST 325. The hulking ship is the only landing ship tank that is still operational and one of only a few survivors of the battle of Normandy on D-Day.
The ship, based in Indiana, made an 800-mile trip to Pittsburgh and was greeted as it entered the city by cannon fire from the USS Requin, a submarine and floating museum permanently docked outside the Carnegie Science Center. With a crew of volunteers and veterans, the ship will welcome visitors here over the next few days and tell the story of the more than 1,000 LSTs that were used in World War II.
"This ship means our freedom," said Mary Pat Rickerd, 70, whose husband served on two similar ships, the 491 and 1110, during the war. "If it was not for the LSTs, we would have not won World War II."
The LST 325 was launched Oct. 27, 1942. It was one of more than 1,000 landing ships that were made to carry battle-ready tanks, troops and supplies onto enemy shores.
The LST 325 landed on the beaches of Normandy and made 43 more trips across the English Channel, ferrying troops and equipment to soldiers pushing to break the German stronghold on western Europe. It also helped British and American combat units launch an invasion on Sicily.
Rickerd, whose husband died three years ago, is secretary and treasurer of a Pennsylvania group that aims to preserve the legacy of these ships, many of which were manufactured in towns in Western Pennsylvania. But though she's been active in the group for years, this is the first time she had ever seen an LST in person.
And seeing this one in particular, which had been in Greece for years before being brought back to the U.S. to be restored, was especially sweet.
"It's a priceless commodity that we gave away and we were fortunate enough to get this one back," Rickerd said.
The ship's captain, Robert Jornlin, a Navy lieutenant during Vietnam, said the last time an LST had been in Pittsburgh was more than 50 years ago. He said the ride up the Ohio into the city was memorable, with fellow boaters flashing their lights and people on shore waving them on.
"We meet so many good people, great people. It's a fulfilling thing," Jornlin said.
From the ship's deck Wednesday, crew members waved to children waiting on the shore and threw them small wooden coins. On one side was the name of the ship, on the other was written "the world's smallest flotation device."
Ron Hinerman, 60, of Pittsburgh, stood on a grassy hill above the river looking out over the ship. He and his wife shielded themselves from the hot sun with umbrellas and wondered what conditions their own fathers had to endure on similar ships during World War II.
He hopes people will visit the ship and keep passing along the history of the war, especially to children.
"We grew up with John Wayne and a lot of war stories, movies. But they don't play those anymore and I don't know if they'll know about the World War II that our parents were in," Hinerman said. "I think (the ship) will make people remember World War II."
