No Seneca LST Days for Me

I was a bit disappointed Saturday when I wasn't able to get to go to Seneca, Illinois, a little over two hours from here along the Illinois River. They were having their annual LST (Landing Ship Tank) Festival. I'd never heard of it before until I read about it in the Chicago Tribune Travel Section three weeks ago.

I have recently gotten interested in LSTs since visiting the one in Evansville, Indiana, in March. These were the ships you often see in WW II clips and movies, up on the beach with bows open and tanks and other vehicle rolling out. Definitely a backbone of our war effort.

For some reason, these ships were never given names, just called by their numbers which ran according to their overall launch.

During World War II, the Seneca Shipyard launched 157 LSTs from 1941-1945. The first one was LST-197, completed December 13, 1942 and last LST-1152 June 18, 1945. LSTs were made at several shipyards across the United States, including one at Evansville (but the one there now wasn't).

Later this summer, we will take a mini-cruise for several days to include Seneca where I will find whatever information I can about LST construction there. They have a LST Park.

We will also do a drive along the Illinois River and IM Canal.

Getting My LST Going. --RoadDog