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Navy Vets Give Good Report At Sea 


Copyright 2000 "The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information
contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise
distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press."

By DAVID OLIVA

Associated Press Writer

GIBRALTAR (AP) -- A group of U.S. war veterans who are defying warnings by
attempting to sail the Atlantic in a retired warship reported Wednesday that
all was well on their first day on the ocean.

Gibraltar-based Navy Cmdr. Chris Melhuish said he had had a brief satellite
phone conversation with ship Capt. Bob Jornlin who told him everything was OK.

"They said the weather is perfect, (the sea was) flat as a pancake and that the
men are confident," Melhuish said.

The 58-year-old LST-325 was moving at 9 mph -- a "good speed" Melhuish said.

He was among about 20 people who waved farewell to the 29 veterans -- average
age 72 -- as they left this Mediterranean port off the tip of Spain on Tuesday.

The vessel -- an LST or landing ship, tank -- was originally built to land
tanks and troops on the French shore during the Normandy invasion of World War
II. The men all served in that war, or the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam.

On Wednesday evening they were heading toward Spain's Canary Islands off the
northwest coast of Africa.

Attempts to contact the men on the ship were unsuccessful.

The veterans are members of the 9,000-strong United States LST Association and
hope to bring the 328-foot-long, 50-foot-wide ship to Mobile, Ala., to become a
floating museum.

The initial departure went ahead despite warnings from the U.S. Coast Guard
that the estimated monthlong, 4,350-mile trip was too dangerous.

Vice Adm. John E. Shkor, commander of the Coast Guard's Atlantic Area Command,
warned the crew in a letter recently that the vessel lacked adequate lifesaving
equipment, its steering was questionable and that the Atlantic is cold and
stormy in December.

He said the ship should be towed or the trip postponed until its equipment
problems are resolved.

The veterans left Greece and sailed the Mediterranean Sea in 13 days to arrive
in Gibraltar on Nov. 30. Jornlin said they stopped to carry out the repairs and
improvements suggested by the U.S. Coast Guard. The only potential problem
apparently outstanding was the weather.

Concern has also been expressed over the crew's health and age. One shipmate,
identified in the ship's Web site log as Bill Hart, became seriously ill while
sailing from Greece and died after returning to the United States.

But the crew maintains it and the LST can do it. In any case, the LST
Association said the estimated $600,000 it would cost to tow the vessel was too
much.

Each veteran has contributed $2,000 to cover meals and expenses, while a
British oil company donated more than 50,000 gallons of fuel.

The retired ship participated in the invasions of Sicily and Salerno and
reached Normandy six days after D-Day in June 1944. In 1964, it was lent to
Greece but finally decommissioned last summer. Congress then passed a bill
authorizing Greece to turn over the ship for use as a memorial.

The United States LST Association has fought since the 1980s to repatriate it.
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On the Net: LST Association: http://www.uslst.org

Log of the return voyage at http://www.palosverdes.com/lst887/lst325.html



12/13/2000 16:55