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Editor: Mr. Robert J. Matz, Chicago, IL.
WW2 Crew, please contact Bill or
Rose Henneka at 727-576-0933.
WESTPAC 1966-1967, contact Ed
Odonnoghue at
ed.odonnoghue@navy.mil
or Bob Matz
Join Us for
Reunion 2008
WESTPAC and
Friends, Sept 20th.
Navy Pier
Dinner, Nation of Chicago.
Home of
Bears, Cubs, Bulls and Sox.
Contact Bob
Matz @email or work 800 947 8505
Click here to see some of our Reunion Photos |
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SHIP HISTORY
The 912 was commissioned in May of 1944 at the Bethlehem-Hingham
Shipyard in Hingham, MA and assigned to the 7th Amphibious Fleet in
the Asiatic Pacific Theater. She took part in five invasions and earned
four battle stars. In January 1945, she was hit by a Japanese kamikaze
plane that took the lives of four shipmates stationed in an aft gun tub
and injured four others. These were the ship's only wartime casualties.
Following the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the ship performed
occupation duties in the Philippines and Japan until December. In
January, she was reassigned to the Atlantic Fleet and brought back
through the Panama Canal to Little Creek, VA.
CLICK to read an account of - January 8, 1945 - Hit by a Japanese Zero !!!
SHIP RENAMED |
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The LST-912 was re-designated the USS Mahnomen County in July
1955. (Click here to see photos taken in 1964.) Shipmates who served in this period have compiled a list of the ship's movements
during the Cold War. (Click here for the list.)
The LST-912 received two more battle stars before being run aground at Chu Lai, South Vietnam during a typhoon on 30 December 1966.
(Click here to see photos taken in 1966.) |
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Steven Richardson, 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Ky Ha (Chu Lai) Mar '66 through
Feb '67, relates, "I was on guard duty in a bunker on the cliff above where the ship landed. It was right next to the MAG 36 chopper pad. It was New Year's Eve
1966 and raining like hell. I kept watching the lights on the
ship get closer and closer to the rocks, and finally I heard this tremendous screech. I called the communications shack and told them about the noise. They came
down and we all stood around wondering what had happened. The next morning, some of us went down to the rocks below and picked up items that had escaped from the
hull. It was quite an experience."
The ship had been anchored about a quarter of a mile off shore with only her bow anchor employed when winds drove her onto a reef and into a depression between the
reef and the shore. Two tugs from the Philippines were unable to pull her off, and a 7-inch steel cable parted in the attempt. |
Salvage attempts led to building a temporary bulkhead within the ship and
cutting the stern free so she could be towed to a shipyard for repairs. Still she could not be freed. It was decided to fill the ship voids and ballast tanks with
Styrofoam to make her more floatable. That also failed and caused the death of a crew member when he was overcome
with the poisonous fumes from the mixing of the liquids in forming the Styrofoam. Finally, the ship was declared a total loss. Salvageable parts were taken and the
ship was abandoned on January 31, 1967.
A member of the crew, Roger Urce, reported that "they took what they could carry on their persons (no sea
bags, but most of the lockers were underwater anyway) and went down the cargo nets and that was that."
A Board of Inquiry determined that both anchors should have been in the water, that a better fix on the ship's position should have been taken, and that a better
anchorage should have been selected. |
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From: John Homan USN at the Naval Supply Facility Aug 1966-1967.
Discharged from active service at rank of SK2 - E5, Oct 1969.
I took this picture on my day off, enroute to the USO on the coast south of Chu Lai. I walked and hitch-hiked my way
there and back. I don't remember the day or month, but it was probably between March and May of 1967 because it wasn't raining. From its condition in the
picture you can see it was taken sometime later than the one on your website.
Our barracks was on Rosemary Point. I never knew it by that name while I was there. I worked as a cargo checker at
the Cus Ho LST ramp.
There was a mortar attack from the island across from the LST dock sometime during or before May of 1967; and
although there was no official briefing on it, I remember hearing 3 Seabees from MCB 8 were killed when a mortar hit their tent. Another went through the roof
of a building but didn't explode. I haven't had any luck yet finding anything on the internet other than a sentence from the Stars and Stripes from May of 1967.
SHIP'S LOG
A copy of the ship's log for WW II was secured from the National Archives.
It has been indexed with the names of men who served on or were transported
by the LST-912 during WWII, as well as events and other ships named in the log.
A total of 272 other LSTs have been identified as operating with the 912 in the
South Pacific.
 Please try these other links...
U.S. Navy Memorial Log
National LST Association
USS White River (with many links)
Harbor Clearance Unit 1
http://www.HullNumber.com
Thank you for visiting our web page!
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