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Originally published
WHEELING, W.Va. – It’s anchors away this week at Wheeling’s Heritage Port with the arrival of Navy ship the USS List-325.
The USS List-325 docked in Wheeling Thursday and all hands will be on deck through Tuesday to welcome visitors aboard to tour the ship, which is the last fully operational World War II Landing Ship Tank (LST).
Ken Rupp, Cruise Director and Watch Captain, says the ship travels the eastern U.S. rivers and waterways each summer as a functional museum educating the public about the roles of LST ships in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
The ship was commissioned in 1943 and was used in the invasion of Sicily. Rupp says the ship remained with the the U.S. Navy until the early 1960s when it was sold to the the Greek Navy. It returned to the United States in the early 2000s and became a museum ship.
He explained that the USS List-325 is a flat-bottomed ship that rises 3 feet at its front, making it suitable for navigating shallower waters like the Ohio River in addition to the ocean. Rupp says ships that are solely ocean-going vessels have v-shaped bottoms.
Rupp says the ship is based in Evansville, Indiana and has traveled the Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois Rivers plus inland lakes and waterways in the east including ones in Nashville and Chatanooga.
The USS List-325 sets sail each summer with a crew of around 45 volunteers who sleep and eat on board while sailing at a pace of 8 to 10 miles per hour. The volunteers are dressed in red shirts and are happy to guide visitors on the tour when they dock and answer questions.
Visitors can see the tank deck where 20 Sherman tanks were housed. You can also climb the steps to the mess deck and galley and see the anti-aircraft guns. There are also bunks made of fabric stacked from floor to ceiling where the sailors slept.
Rupp says it takes about 45 to 90 minutes to tour the ship and see its exhibits but there is no time limit and some people stay a few hours.
Rupp explained that a non-profit group, U.S. Memorial Ship, Inc. owns the USS List-325.
The ship will be docked at Wheeling’s Heritage Port from now through Tuesday, September 10 and open for tours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $7 for children and free for children age 6 and under.
For more information on the USS List-325, visit the ship’s website