On January 30, 1933, Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany. On September 1, 1939, WWII started. It wasn’t until the year of 1943 that my grandpa, Donald Hart, joined the US Navy. My grandpa was on USS LST 717. LST 717 and all of its crew participated in two operations, both in 1945.
LST 717 began its way down the Ohio River into the Mississippi River. On the same day that the ship left, he was assigned auxiliary steering and started his lessons as a Helmsman. Once they reached New Orleans, the put camouflage paint on, and the pontoons were attached. Their first stop was Hollandia, New Guinea, located in the southern part of the Philippine Sea. Their next stop was the Southwest Pacific. My grandpa worked with the bow gun as a Gunners mate for the twin guns at the very front of the ship. LSTs were armed with 40 mm guns, but they went a very slow speed of 11 .6 knots, and they were unescorted, which made them an obvious target for Japanese submarines and aircraft. My grandpa usually slept in the stern of the ship where the cooks slept. He was asked numerous times to become a cook, but ended up declining every offer …show more content…
On October 19, 1944, 151 LSTs, 18 aircraft carriers, and 53 assault transports, 54 assault cargo ships, and an army all landed on Leyte. After arriving, LST 717 became part of the seventh fleet. The seventh fleet, along with the third fleet, eighth army, sixth army, and fifth army, were under command of General Douglas MacArthur. On December 17, the LST 717 and the third fleet were caught in a typhoon. There was a lot of damage caused. Three destroyers sunk, 140 aircraft carriers destroyed, and lots of damage to 8 carriers, 7 destroyers, and a cruiser. Over 800 sailors lost their lives. LST 717 had to head for land and have the seams of the ship re-welded. At the end of 1944, LST 717 worked in New Guinea. In February, they headed for Palawan, an island west of the China