WWII warship passes by Fort Madison Tuesday

FORT MADISON –  A World War II amphibious landing ship made its way north on the Mississippi River Tuesday morning cruising past the historic shores of Fort Madison.
The USS LST 325 (Landing Ship Tank) left its homeport of Evansville, Indiana earlier this week.
The vessel is scheduled to dock near Pearl City Station in Muscatine on Sept. 9. Daily tours of the vessel will be offered from Sept. 11-15 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased aboard the ship.
The vessel, moving at just over four knots, slowly passed through Pool 19 and then through the open bridge in Fort Madison headed north on its voyage.

Janet Boeding, of Burlington, got a good spot on a rock slab to take pictures of the vessel.
“I heard it was going to be coming through the area so I thought I would come down and take a look from here,” she said.
“They’re giving tours of the ship in Muscatine and we’re planning on going up for that,” she said.
The landing vessels, which were used for amphibious invasions, could carry 20 Sherman tanks in their giant holds. They were the only ships ever made that could go anywhere in the world and deposit their cargo onto a hostile beach and then go get another load. On the main deck they could also carry 30-40 trucks, tons of fuel, ammunition or supplies, and soldiers.
The LSTs were used during World War II, Korea, and the Vietnam conflicts. The LST 325, was involved in the invasion at Omaha Beach D-Day 1944. It was also at Sicily on July 10, 1943.