Spectators gather as the USS LST 325 prepares to dock at Ross’s Landing in downtown Chattanooga on Sept. 11, 2014. The 330-foot vessel launched in October 1942 and landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.The USS LST 325 made its way down the Tennessee River overnight, docking this morning at Ross’s Landing.
The amphibious LSTs – short for Landing Ship, Tank – carried tanks, military vehicles, artillery and supplies into the heart of battle during World War II, the Vietnam War and the Korean War. The USS LST 325 is the last surviving ship of its kind.
Local officials and veterans will hold a ceremony on board the LST at 2 p.m. today honoring the lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks.
The LST will be open for tours Friday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The ship is generally docked in Evansville, Ind., for about 11 months each year with an annual summer cruise to two cities. This year, Chattanooga’s stop follows Decatur, Ala.
A crew of volunteers, most of them veterans, mans the ship for each cruise and lives, works and keeps watch just as the crew would have done in the ship’s wartime years.