Wvc Sports Schedule Postponed

Area Kids Put Words In Their Pets' Mouths

Friday, January 05, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





The Associated Press &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 NASSAU, Bahamas - Sunburned and windblown but victorious, a band of aging
U.S. veterans reached the Bahamas on Thursday after taking their World War II
ship on a nostalgic trans-Atlantic voyage to bring the vessel home. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The 29 veterans - gray-bearded and white-haired with an average age of 72 -
shipped out later Thursday for Mobile, Ala., the final destination of their
4,350-mile journey. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We just wanted to bring this thing back,'' Bruce Voges, 74, of Oakwood,
Ill., said as he secured the 328-foot LST 325 to the dock in Nassau harbor.
``It brings back memories, but sometimes it brings back memories that you
don't want to remember.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Just seeing it brings back some good memories,'' said Bob Maden, who
could not make the trip because of bad eyesight but flew from Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., for its arrival. ``This is a birthday present for me,'' said Maden, who
turns 74 today. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The veterans have been at sea since Dec. 12, when they left Gibraltar after
running into engine trouble in the Mediterranean and stopping for nearly a
month. The trip began in Greece on Nov. 17 and was expected to end next week
in Mobile, where the vets hope to turn the 60-year-old naval vessel into a
museum and national monument. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``They said it could not have been done ... But we did it!'' said a
jubilant message posted Wednesday on the adventurers' Web site by electrician
Bailey Wrinkle of McKenzie, Tenn. He crowed over those who said, ``No way ...
no way it could be done.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The trip was not without incident. Besides the engine trouble, one member
of the crew, Bill Hart, became seriously ill shortly after the ship left
Greece. He died after returning to the United States. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Landing Ship-Tank 325 arrived in Nassau, the Bahamian capital, to pick up
oil, produce and a case of beer while divers repaired a silver-dollar-sized
hole on the rust-crusted starboard bow. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Among those relieved the trip is nearly over are family members. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I was a little frightened, especially when they went off across the
Atlantic in that old ship,'' said Lois Jornlin of Earlville, Ill., wife of
Capt. Robert D. Jornlin. ``The closer they are to home, the better I feel
about it.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The veterans spent four months in Greece repairing the ship and battling
some unexpected pests. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We thought our main problem was to get this ship back from the Greeks,
but lately we have been fighting with another group as to who will control
this vessel: the deck house can be rightly called Cockroach Hotel,'' says the
captain's log. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It was a formidable task undertaken ``to fulfill a dream: A dream of having
our own LST forever,'' as one log says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 LSTs were originally built to land tanks and troops on the French shore
during the Normandy invasion of World War II. This crew includes veterans of
that war, and those who served in Korea and Vietnam. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The LSTs have long been out of service, most sold or leased by the U.S.
Navy, and it had been difficult finding one that might be seaworthy.
Eventually the LST-325 was found, about to be decommissioned by the Greek
navy. It had been used in the invasion of Normandy as well as in campaigns in
North Africa, Salerno and Sicily during World War II. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 AP PHOTO &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 From left, retired chief quartermaster Bill Nickerson of Margate, Fla.,
retired chief motor machinist John Calvin of Citrus Springs, Fla. and 3rd
Class Boatsman Dewey Taylor of West Palm Beach, Fla., are on the deck of the
LST-325 after arriving in Nassau, Bahamas. Twenty-nine World War II veterans
made the voyage on the ship, which was involved in the 1944 Invasion of
Normandy. The vets hope to turn the 60-year-old naval vessel into a museum and
national monument. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Completing A Voyage Of Memories 
Some Said It Couldn't Be Done, But 29 World War Ii Veterans Have Set Out On
The Last Leg Of Their Journey To Bring A Wwii Warship Back Home.

Completing A Voyage Of Memories Some Said It Couldn't Be Done, But 29 World War Ii Veterans Have Set Out On The Last Leg Of Their Journey To Bring A Wwii Warship Back Home.