Nearly 3,000 visitors a day have touched World War II history and occupied the space where American servicemen slept, ate and prepared for war in the USS LST Ship Memorial, a floating and operational museum docked at Riverside Park in La Crosse.
For Frank Bua, seeing LST-325 wasn’t just an educational opportunity and a day out with his family on Labor Day. It was a chance to revisit the same model ship he was stationed on while he fought in WWII.
Now 97, Bua was 17 when he enlisted in the Navy in October 1943 and was stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii briefly before seeing action on an LST in the Philippines and Okinawa, Japan.
LSTs, which stands for Landing Ship, Tank, were built to hold 20 U.S. Sherman tanks and had a massive front door that opened to allow the tanks to roll onto shore.
“I was pretty emotional stepping back on the ship. It reminded me of the good group of guys I was on there with and how we were — young,” Bua said. “We were on there just wanting to do our job.”
With misty eyes, Bua said his thoughts kept circling back to the men he served with in the Pacific theater.
World War II tank landing ship to dock in La Crosse, allow visitors on board
“I can’t tell you how many are living anymore, but we did our duty throughout WWII,” Bua said. “It is important, for me, to remember and reflect on that history whether the fond moments or the ones of misgiving.”
The floating museum is based in Evansville, Indiana, for 11 months of the year. The ship tours the country educating visitors about the role of the LST in WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. It was in La Crosse from Aug. 31 through Sept. 4 and allowed visitors to tour the museum.
Bua has lived most of his life in the Rock County cities of Beloit and now Milton. He said he has remained active in the VFW, been a part of Quilts of Valor, and was even part of the veterans’ Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C., for the unveiling of the WWII memorial.
“It was nice for me to see what I had spent my naval career on,” Bua said. “And it’s a part of history that I think people should see. It’s part of the reason we are all here.”
Bua got to step back on the ship surrounded by his family, who surprised him with the trip.
“As soon as I saw the first daughter, I knew something was up,” Bua said. “And then seeing all of them here, I was overwhelmed.”
Bua’s daughter Lisa said she was in awe seeing the ship for the first time.
“I don’t know how they did it — being away from home, crammed in there like sardines, all while being shot at,” Lisa said. “It was a good day though, my dad got to shoot off the gun which was great because that was his job.”
Lisa said the experience brought her perspective, a sentiment the family shared. While the day featured smiles, it also brought tears.
“He’s never really talked about his service until recently,” Bua’s granddaughter Francesca said. “He’s started opening up and shared an entire photo album with us. It’s really been cool to see him begin to open up and get a little emotional.”
While the attention was around Bua revisiting his former ship, Francesca said the whole family took something away from the experience.
“Just to share some of those core memories might be a little traumatic,” Francesca said. “Not only for grandpa, but for the family, it was crazy to be able to see the ship he served on and imagine his time on it.”
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