A World War II ship stationed along the North Shore began attracting visitors Thursday, a day ahead of formal tours.
Lynn Baer, 63, came from Moon to see a piece of history — LST 325 — a landing ship tank that ferried soldiers and equipment into combat.
Standing on the grass in front of the 328-foot ship and taking a panorama photo, Ms. Baer was hoping to “get on the boat and learn about it,” but found out tours don’t start until Friday, she said. But she made it clear she will be back.
“It’s really cool,” she continued. “To see what we did to make our country free, the dedication of the people is just wonderful.”
Even though she has no connection to the military, Ms. Baer finds the history of it fascinating and is impressed by how massive the boat is, she said.
Excited to meet the people who work on the boat and “what the military did to help us,” Ms. Baer is looking forward to coming back for a tour, she said.
“It’s great to pass that history along,” she added.
The USS LST 325, the last fully operational World War II landing ship, launched in Philadelphia in 1942, said Ken Rupp, the ship’s cruise director, on Thursday.
It has been a part of numerous operations for the United States military and abroad, most notably making 44 crossings in Normandy during D-Day. Today, the LST is based in Evansville, Ind., but is currently making three stops along the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Wheeling, W.Va., and Marietta, Ohio, Mr. Rupp said.
Self-guided tours on the North Shore will be from Aug. 30 to Sep. 3, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The ship is staffed entirely by volunteers from the USS LST Ship Memorial, a nonprofit which aims to share the role LST’s played in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Inside, displays of the ship’s history, those who played a pivotal role in the LST’s creation and how the ship looked during battle can be seen.
Jeffrey and Sherry Earlandson came to see it with a familial connection in mind.
Mr. Earlandson’s father, from Pittsburgh, worked on an LST at the end of World War II, so he wanted to see the boat in person, he said.
Years ago, Mr. Earlandson and his father saw an LST in person, but he has never been on one himself.
After taking some photos of the ship along the shore of the riverfront park, the couple headed over to get a closer look.
The boat, while preserved for its part in American history, has a bit of a complicated past, Mr. Rupp said. In 1962, the U.S. military sold the ship to Greece’s military, which owned the ship into the late 1990s before being decommissioned.
Greek symbols including a flag and the ship’s title under the Greek military, Syros, can be seen throughout the LST. The nonprofit running the tours of the LST 325 is responsible for getting the ship back to the United States in 2001.
“We are just a group of people that want to preserve history, that’s the driving force,” Mr. Rupp said. “The folks inside [the ship] are all our volunteers. We’re going to be out on this ship for a month, so we’ll be on the ship for a long time.”
And while tours technically start Friday, one man was able to get a personal tour, since he drove across the state to see the LST 325 in person.
Marc Glossner, 73, of Montoursville, Lycoming County, came to Pittsburgh specifically with his father in mind.
His father, Warren Glossner, was on an LST during World War II and would always tell stories about his time on the boat, Mr. Glossner said. When he explained that background, he was allowed onboard on Thursday.
Finally being able to see the inside of an LST for himself “was wonderful,” he said, especially seeing the one place his father spent the most time: the machinist shop.
“My father was a machinist on the boat and his stories would always focus around that,” Mr. Glossner continued. “It was neat to see where my father spent most of his time and the crew quarters, like most of the men involved.”
Mr. Glossner’s uncle was also in the war and was killed on an LST, he added. He still takes care of his uncle’s grave and was happy that he was able to take a tour of the ship.
“It’s a living memorial,” he said.
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