The Last Hurrah
A crew of veteran sailors whose tours of duty spanned all the way back to WWII rounded the last bend of the river standing at attention along the port side. For many of these men, a journey was finally coming to an end. LST-325, now a floating haze gray museum, had found a new home port on the northern banks of the Ohio River.
A river barge deliberately pushes LST 325 up the Mississippi River with beacons continually scanning the way for obstacles and markers.
Dewey Taylor of West Palm Beach, Fl., prepares for the day in LST 325's starboard side head with a quick shave before chow.
LST 325's twin 40 mm anti-aircraft portside gun sight is utilized as a tourist attraction nowadays instead of a way to track enemy aircraft.
Captain Bob Jornlin, far right, and Sid Hisel of Georgetown, Ky., center, stand watch in the wheelhouse of LST 325 as they near one of the last locks along their voyage from Mobile, Ala., to Evansville, Ind.
Making sure the crew of volunteers gets fed is a big responsibility. Will Adams of Covington, Ohio, right, has deep sink duty after breakfast as ship's cook Bill Arras of Mobile, Ala., gets started on the day's lunch menu.
After dinner, with LST 325 tied up to a barge docked just south of St. Louis on the Mississippi River, the crew shares stories and beers near the fantail of the ship.
It was clear sailing for LST 325 after pulling away from the John T. Myer lock at Uniontown, Ky., just before 3 a.m. Monday morning.
Crewmember Larry Johnson of Bay Minette, Alabama, a retired master chief with 35 years in the navy, takes in Dale Brown's "Night of the Hawk" before lights out.
Between standing watches and performing their daily duties there was plenty of time to relax and visit on the fantail of the ship. Lauren Whiting of Buffalo, N.Y., center, gets in on an early morning bull session with Bill Spencer of Kirkwood, Mo., left, and Dean Erickson of Davis, S. Dak.
Bruce "Boats" Voges of Oakwood, Ill., and his son, Tim Voges, ready lines to tie up to a lock wall on the Ohio River Sunday evening. "Boats" was a navy career man and is a member of the Gold Crew aboard LST 325.
"Gentlemen, we're going to be lining up like two rows of Indiana corn on the port side," Captain Bob Jornlin told the crew of LST 325 before they arrived in Evansville, their new home port, Monday at around noon. Area residents lined the shore of the Ohio River at Dress Plaza downtown and along the Greenway to welcome her home.
Don Lockas of Marseilles, Ill., tosses the heaving line to the mooring barge as LST 325 arrived at it's new homeport of Evansville. This was his second throw to the barge after the linehandlers narrowly missed his first throw of the monkey fist.