We are in Clarksville TN today!  We are open 9:00am to 5:00pm through the 30th.  Come down and visit this wonderful ship and then send us some pictures or your story for us to share! 

 Thank you to all of our dedicated and hard working volunteers who are making this cruise possible, who make all things possible on board this historical treasure!  

We had a wonderful turnout in Nashville TN.  Let's do even better in Clarksville TN this week!  These pictures are courtesy of Ron Matthews.

These pictures are courtesy of Ray Gobernatz of Palmyra TN.

I had a gentlemen email me over the weekend inquiring about exceptions for lines for a WWII Vet. His family was worried about the long wait he might have to endure.  This is part of the email he wrote in response to their visit.

......Secondly, my wife and I had a wonderful time aboard the 325 Saturday in Nashville.  I had intended at some time to visit it in Evansville  to see the kind of ship my beloved uncle Morris Phelps served on, the 210, in World War II.  The 210 hull number is visible in one of the photos on display on the tank deck showing a line-up of LST’s on St. Tropez beach.  I had also encouraged all of my co-workers in the Nashville Post Office to pay the 325 a visit during its Nashville stay.  One of them wanted to take her father, a Navy veteran of World War II,  and it was on her behalf I e-mailed an inquiry on whether there were special accommodations for older veterans in poor health.  What follows is what happened, as the lady reported to me in an e-mail:

Ben and my brother-in-law took my father to see the ship Sunday. They said he had the best time. He toured the whole ship. When they got there, there was a long line. My father is on oxygen so he sat down and Ben got in line while George parked the car. A man at the front of the line told Ben to get his father and come up front with them. Ben got my father and went to the front of the line. Ben carried a chair and when daddy got tired he sat down. When going down the steps Ben got in front and George got behind and carried his oxygen tank. Ben said daddy talked to everyone on the ship and told them all kinds of stories because he was on a ship just like that one. The only problem was when they were ready to go back up the steps to leave my father said he didn't think he could make it. He did, he was just tired when he got home but had such a good time. I am so glad they got to go. I would have enjoyed going but I was helping my brother and I knew daddy would have a good time with the boys. He could talk Navy with Ben and he is hard of hearing but can hear George pretty well so he enjoys talking to him.

You guys are doing a great thing in preserving this piece of history, connecting future generations to the past and to our heritage of freedom, and re-connecting some fine persons with a chapter in their lives marked with courage, duty, and sacrifice for which they can always be proud.  Keep up the great work!

BOB 

We're receiving wonderful responses in regards to our visit to Nashville Tn.  We received this letter over the weekend:

Hello,

I wasn't sure where to post this on your website but I wanted to let you know about the experience my daughter and I had today aboard your ship. First, when we arrived we heard the whistle blown and seen an elderly lady being pushed in a wheelchair to an awaiting golfcart. She was crying and her face in her hands. That was one of the most touching scenes I ever seen while visiting this type of memorial. I can only imagine what memories visiting your ship stirred up in her, hoping they weren't all bad.

It was, however, a great segway for me to start explaining how important it is for people my daughter's age (she's 14) to visit places like your ship to reconnect with our countries history. I have toured several ships, most recently four in the Baltimore harbor but I must say visiting them with their limited staff (that are mostly younger than I and not that knowledgeable), lack of plaques noting each section and no explainations the daily doings has nothing on what we got to experience today!

While it was overwhelming at first on the amount of staff you had on the ship, I come to realize quickly the importance of them! There is nothing comparable to stopping and chatting with them to have a personal story relating to what happened in that part of the ship (or similar). It was like listening to one of Grandpa's many stories and being able to really see that section and learning the "how/who/what" of it. When we got to the mess deck, the Captain was there and he was interacting with one of the volunteers. We were able to then here the about the mess hall - how big it really was, how many of our sailors would have been there at a time, what type of meal was served, etc. That little interaction made the ship come alive and really bring home what these men lived like on the ship.

My daughter stopped just before entering the "Officer's Country" and asked what the pipe near the hatch was. The gentleman standing there politely stepped up and explained what it was and how it was used. She thanked the man and we started to move on, stopping me to say she liked having all these people answer her questions.

I was extremely pleased with the whole experience and want to thank everyone. I hope you share this letter with your volunteers so they know we thank them for their stories, time and attention.

We will see you again in a few days when you are in Clarksville, bringing more family with us!

All the best to all of you!

Tina

We have new pictures of the USS LST 325 in Nashville.  These were taken by Fred Tucker who with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  

As you can see we have arrived in Nashville and are open for tours.  Tours start at 9:00am and go till 5:00pm.  We want to thank the Nashville area for such a wonderful turnout despite our engine trouble which delayed us by a half a day.  Thanks to our dedicated crew of volunteers we were up and running in no time.

With just a hiccup from the engines yesterday, we are already receiving pictures.  Here are two from Ray Gobernatz of Palmyra, TN.  If you have great pictures of the ship, send them to 325office@lstmemorial.org and they may end up on the website too!

I apologize for the delay, but here are pictures of the ship's departure on Saturday.  Here we're starting the engines and getting ready to pick up the duce.

We've got the ship lined up within minutes of arriving near the boat ramp on a neighboring bank.

It took extra gas on the approach, but the duce made it up the ramp.

The creeks and thuds heard from the ramp closing make you think it's gonna fall off or get stuck, but this old girl sure proves you wrong.

Great view of the ship.

The LCVP is coming around to be loaded.  It looks like the current is a bit strong for that.

Here she pulls away and heads toward a new city.

Today the ship has sailed.  Before she left I was able to snag pictures of the crew on the main deck.  I apologize to all the Snipes that were not available for pictures.  Watching the old girl pull away was a bit sad, but she is off to be shared with Nashville and Clarksville TN.