Ralph Hall: “this is a story about a World War II LST that is coming home. She is one of the last of her kind. She has seen a lot in…”

“this is a story about a World War II LST that is coming home. She is one of the last of her kind. She has seen a lot in her time. And now, at about 65 years of age, she is about to take on one of the biggest challenges of her entire lifetime. She was there on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Time and again, the gallant LST 325 returned to Omaha Beach, through murderous gunfire, to unload more men and more equipment to replenish the high casualty and death rate being suffered. She was repaired, and she survived. At the close of World War II, she was transferred for service to Greece and her name was changed to Syros. After years of good service to Greece, Syros was no longer needed. About 3 years ago, my constituent, James Edwards of Canton, Texas, contacted me with a request for assistance in the retransfer of the LST from Greece to the United States LST Ship Memorial, Inc., a nonprofit organization whose membership consists of former Navy service members, mostly World War II type guys. I understand the feelings, as I fall in that category, too. The members of this organization had a dream and a goal that never died. They planned, dreamed, and worked for years to own their own LST. They had a vision of using the ship for educational purposes.”