The Boise firing on armor forces near Gela, Sicily as LST-325, full of US Army trucks, approaches the landing beaches, July 11, 1943
Chattanooga will welcome back a rare piece of history to the downtown waterfront August 21-27. The World War II USS LST 325 will dock at Ross's Landing for an extended visit to offer tours of the of the World War II Landing Ship Tank (LST).
LST 325 will arrive the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 21 with an opening ceremony scheduled for 3 p.m. on the 21st. "Please join us to welcome the crew and Captain Bob Kubota," officials said.
The USS LST 325 was launched on Oct. 27, 1942 and commissioned Feb. 1, 1943. It participated in the D-Day Invasion on June 6, 1944. During WWII, the 325 participated in the invasion and occupation of Sicily and Salerno, both in 1943. On Sept. 1, 1961, the ship was struck from the Naval Register of Ships and transferred to the National Defense Reserve Fleet. In November 1999, by act of the Congress of the United States, she was given to the LST Ship Memorial, Inc.
Tours will be available from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily starting Thursday, Aug. 22 through Tuesday, Aug. 27. Tours last approximately one hour. Adults are $10, ages six-17 are $5 and children 5 and under are free. WWII veterans and Korean War veterans will be granted ‘head of the line’ privileges and free admission. Active duty military, in uniform with a valid DOD ID card are also granted free admission.
LST 325 visits waterfront cities across the country to offer a rare glimpse of this piece of history.
LST-325 moored at Ross's Landing in 2015