USS LST Ship Memorial Looks for New Home for WW II LST

Published Jul 15, 2004 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

Jeffersonville and Evansville are hoping to land the LST-325, a landing ship tank. But, so is Peoria, Ill., which is on the Illinois River.

The President of the Board of Directors for the USS LST Ship Memorial, the non-profit group that operates the ship, said that the board has not ruled out nine other cities that are also interested in the vessel being homebased at their locations.

Landing ship tanks were used to land troops and equipment during amphibious operations. Launched in 1942, LST-325 played a role in the D-Day invasion on Omaha Beach in Normandy.

Nineteen shipyards built LSTs. Evansville's shipyard built 167 of the 1,051 LSTs that were built. However, LST-325, which is 328-feet long, was constructed in Philadelphia.