>> THE U.S.S.LST325 WAS ORIGINALLY COMMISSIONED 70 YEARS
AGO FOR SERVICE IN WORLD WAR II.
SHE AND HER CREW MADE MORE THAN
40 TRIPS FROM ENGLAND TO FRANCE
DELIVERING PRISONERS, SUPPLIES
AND WOUNDED.
AND WOUNDED. SHE WAS PRESENT ON D-DAY WHEN
MORE THAN 160,000 ALLIED TROOPS
STORMED THE BEACHES AT NORMANDY.
IN 1964, LST-325 WAS SOLD TO THE
GREEK NAVY.
GREEK NAVY. AND IN 1999, AFTER NEARLY 60
YEARS OF SERVICE AROUND THE
WORLD, SHE WAS NEARING THE END
OF HER LIFE.
>> IT WAS READY FOR THE
SCRAPYARD.
SCRAPYARD. THAT'S WHAT THE GREEK NAVY WAS
GOING TO DO WITH IT.
THEY WERE GOING TO SCRAP THIS.
>> AND IN ALL FAIRNESS, IT'S
UNDERSTANDING WHY.
UNDERSTANDING WHY. >> NOTHING WORKED ON THIS SHIP.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY
INDIVIDUALS CAME TO GREASE TO
WORK ON THIS BUT IT WAS QUITE A
FEW.
FEW. >> THEY CAME TO WORK AND THEY
CAME TO BRING LST-325, PURCHASED
FROM THE GREEK NAVY FOR $1, HOME
TO THE UNITED STATES.
>> THEY'D COME AND THEY'D GO AND
THEN IN THE END THERE WERE 28
MEN THAT MADE THE JOURNEY TO THE
UNITED STATES.
UNITED STATES. NORMALLY THE SHIP HAD A CREW
OF -- BACK IN WORLD WAR II
BETWEEN 110 AND 115 CREW MEMBERS
PLUS SEVEN OFFICERS.
SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT 28 MEN DID
BY THEMSELVES, AND THEY WERE ALL
SENIOR CITIZENS.
SENIOR CITIZENS. IT WAS QUITE A FEAT.
>> SHE MADE A PROLONGED STOP FOR
REPAIRS IN MOBILE, ALABAMA, THEN
IN 2005LST-325 WAS SAILED TO
EVANSVILLE, HER NEW HOME PORT.
AND ALTHOUGH IT WAS MOST
CERTAINLY A DAY FOR CELEBRATION,
IT WAS ALSO THE BEGINNING OF A
LOT OF WORK FOR A LOT OF
DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS.
DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS. [HORN]
[HORN] >> TO RESTORE IT TO ITS FORMER
GLORY IS STILL A WORK IN
PROGRESS AND IT ALWAYS WILL BE.
EVERYTHING YOU SEE HAS BEEN
RESTORED HE IN SOME WAY OR
ANOTHER.
ANOTHER. BE IT A PIECE OF PLATING CUT OUT
THAT'S BEEN RUSTED AWAY, IT BE
PAINTED.
PAINTED. THE LIST GOES ON.
EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK ON THIS
SHIP, SOMETHING HAS BEEN DONE TO
RESTORE IT.
RESTORE IT. OR TO MAKE IT LOOK AS IT DID
BACK IN THE DAYS IT WAS BUILT.
EVERYTHING THAT YOU SEE DOWN IN
THIS ROOM IS FULLY OPERATIONAL.
THIS IS THE MACHINERY WE USE,
THE ENGINES WE USED WHEN WE
SAILED THE SHIP.
THROUGH THIS HATCH WE'LL BE
GOING INTO THE AUXILIARY ENGINE
ROOM.
ROOM. THIS IS WHERE THE SHIP'S
GENERATORS ARE.
GENERATORS ARE. THIS IS THE SHIP'S ELECTRICAL
DISTRIBUTION PANEL.
DISTRIBUTION PANEL. SOME SAILORS ALSO REFERRED TO IT
AS THE FRANKENSTEIN BOARD.
AS YOU CAN SEE THERE'S NO HAND
PROTECTION.
PROTECTION. IF A SALOR IN A ROUGH SEA
SLIPPED, FELL, REACHED IN HERE
TO GRAB SOMETHING TO STEADY
HIMSELF, WEE GET ELECTROCUTED.
THAT'S WHERE THE MAJORITY OF OUR
FUNDING GOES, IS JUST TO KEEP
THIS SHIP SEAWORTHY AND BE ABLE
TO SAIL UNDER ITS OWN POWER.
IT'S A NEVER-ENDING PROGRAM, AND
THERE ARE THOUSANDS AND
THOUSANDS OF HOURS HAVE GONE
INTO THIS.
INTO THIS. >> BUT THE WORK DOESN'T END IN
THE ENGINE ROOM.
ONE OF THE LST'S MOST UNIQUE
FEATURES IS ALSO ONE OF ITS MOST
DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN.
>> WHERE WE'RE STANDING RIGHT
NOW, THIS IS CALLED THE BOW
RAMP.
RAMP. THIS IS WHERE VEHICLES WOULD
ENTER AND EXIT DURING AN
AMPHIBIOUS LANDING.
AMPHIBIOUS LANDING. WHEN THE RAMP IS CLOSED, THAT
MAKES THE WATER-TIGHT SEAL.
YOU CAN SEE THE GASKET THERE.
THEY BRING THE RAMP UP, THEY DOG
IT DOWN, AND THEN THEY CLOSE THE
DOORS.
DOORS. >> AND JUST BEHIND THE BOW RAMP
IS THE TANK DECK.
>> THIS IS THE MAIN REASON FOR
THIS SHIP BEING BUILT RIGHT
HERE.
HERE. THIS DECK IS 30 FEET WIDE BY 288
FEET LONG.
FEET LONG. IT WILL ACCOMMODATE 20 SHERMAN
TANKS IN TWO ROWS OF 10.
THEY ALSO HAD VEHICLES UP ON THE
MAIN DECK, AND THE WAY THEY GOT
THOSE UP THERE IS ABOVE US IS
THE SHIP'S ELEVATOR.
VEHICLES WOULD COME IN, THEY
WOULD DRIVE IT -- THEY WOULD
DRIVE IT UP ON THE ELEVATOR AND
TO -- UNTIL EVENTUALLY THE MAIN
DECK WAS FULL.
THEN THEY WOULD START LOADING
THIS DECK.
THIS DECK. >> TODAY LST-325'S DECKS ARE
FILLED WITH TOURISTS RS NOT
TANKS.
TANKS. MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS INSTEAD
OF MILITARY CARGO.
BUT SHE STILL HAS A MISSION.
>> OUR MISSION IS TO EDUCATE THE
PUBLIC BY TAKING THE SHIP TO
DIFFERENT PORTS.
DIFFERENT PORTS. THAT'S WHERE WE GET THE FUNDING
TO KEEP THE SHIP OPERATIONAL.
>> WE MIGHT BE GONE FOR A MONTH,
STOP AT FOUR DIFFERENT CITIES
AND PUT 40,000 PEOPLE THROUGH
THIS SHIP IN A MONTH'S TIME.
THERE WERE 1051 OF THESE BUILT
BACK DURING WORLD WAR II.
THIS IS THE LAST SURVIVING FULLY
OPERATIONAL LST IN THE UNITED
STATES AND POSSIBLY THE WORLD.
THIS SHIP IS MILITARY CORRECT,
AND LIKE I SAY, IT'S FULLY
OPERATIONAL.
OPERATIONAL. WE SAIL THE SHIP EVERY YEAR.
>> THE HISTORY OF THAT IS --
WHEN YOU DWELL ON IT, YOU CAN
GET TEARY-EYED.
GET TEARY-EYED. YOU THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT
LANDED ON NORMANDY FROM THIS
SHIP AND GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR
THE FREEDOMS THAT WE HAVE TODAY.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE STANDING ON THE
DECK OF HISTORY.
THIS IS HISTORY.
>> IF YOU'D LIKE TO VISIT THE
LST-325 YOURSELF OR JUST GET
MORE INFORMATION VISIT