On Friday the 13^th of June we got word through our spies that the German’s were invading Evansville and had the riverfront almost secured.  The spies told us they were planning on taking Marina Point by late Saturday and capture the LST.  I called in my crackerjack crew and snuck out of port early Saturday morning. We proceeded to quietly sail up the Ohio River and, once out of sight of the E’ville riverfront, we hoped that the Germans thought we had retreated to Louisville. But we were planning a surprise attack.  We turned the LST around in midstream, threw the throttles full ahead.  With the current helping us reached 12 mph.  At our dock we picked up several LCVP’s full of Special Forces and down towards the riverfront we went. 

Saturday, June 14^th, at 1225 hours, LST 325 again landed troops at Normandy (Evansville Riverfront.) shot almost continuously the forward and aft twin 40's to clear the beach and then our LCVP’s carried 30 Army special forces (re-enactors) led by General Patton (Sarge Goodall) to the south end of the plaza. They circumvented a big German gun emplacement and started to neutralize it. Not soon enough as one of the large shells from that gun hit our main deck just aft of the bow twin 40. Large amounts of smoke came up from the shell hole. This hit did not take out the forward gun which continued to send cover fire to the beach for our soldiers. Air support was called in and two P-47s (made in Evansville) swooped in over the top of us and dropping several bombs, took out the German gun. The Germans were captured and ordered to put their hands behind their heads and marched to the war memorial where pictures were to be taken. They refused to throw their guns in a pile and leave them behind! So they were allowed to carry them up to the Memorial. Now does that sound like modern warfare or what?

For video of the battle, click here.

We continued down river to the gambling boat, took it by surprise even though we had blown our whistle several times and I ran our siren (a new addition to my toys on the CONN). We fired on that converted battleship, sinking it into the river.  We turned the LST around past a sea of onlookers of at least several thousand all packed onto the banks of the river. From the now submerged and burning gambling boat to the Evansville museum which is past the memorial and the plaza were streams of people.  We played anchors away on our new loud speakers placed port and starboard on the 03 level bulkheads, just to pour more salt on the defeated German army. Then with a little smoke out of the mighty GM engines, we returned to our dock, anchored and took on a bunch of French citizens (tour groups) who were elated to get their country back again. They paid good money to see the old grey lady. No one has attacked Evansville successfully since the LST arrived in October 2005.