The World War II era naval ship that ran aground Monday night in Lake Barkley headed back to port Wednesday.
Officials tell the News Edge the ship was freed from a mud bar near Buzzard Rock Marina Wednesday evening around 6:20. A tow boat worked most of Wednesday to help free the ship that got stuck after getting out of the main channel. After the ship was freed, some propulsion and steering tests were conducted before the crew resumed their trip back to the home port in Evansville.
With the historic value of the ship, US Coast Guard Lt. Jason Franze says freeing the ship was a tedious process. He says the Coast Guard's first priority in this situation was to make sure that the crew of the ship was taken care of.
The USS LST 325 was part of the largest armada in history when it participated in the Normandy Landings at Omaha Beach. The ship carried 59 vehicles, 31 officers and a total of 408 enlisted men on that first trip. On her first trip back to England from France, the USS LST-325 hauled 38 casualties back to a friendly port.
Over the following nine months, Navy records show the ship made more than 40 trips back and forth across the English Channel, carrying thousands of men and pieces of equipment needed by troops to successfully complete the liberation of Europe.
Officials tell the News Edge the ship was freed from a mud bar near Buzzard Rock Marina Wednesday evening around 6:20. A tow boat worked most of Wednesday to help free the ship that got stuck after getting out of the main channel. After the ship was freed, some propulsion and steering tests were conducted before the crew resumed their trip back to the home port in Evansville.
With the historic value of the ship, US Coast Guard Lt. Jason Franze says freeing the ship was a tedious process. He says the Coast Guard's first priority in this situation was to make sure that the crew of the ship was taken care of.
The USS LST 325 was part of the largest armada in history when it participated in the Normandy Landings at Omaha Beach. The ship carried 59 vehicles, 31 officers and a total of 408 enlisted men on that first trip. On her first trip back to England from France, the USS LST-325 hauled 38 casualties back to a friendly port.
Over the following nine months, Navy records show the ship made more than 40 trips back and forth across the English Channel, carrying thousands of men and pieces of equipment needed by troops to successfully complete the liberation of Europe.
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