Today marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, operation Overlord, and the storming of the Normandy Beaches. Way more then I could ever write has been written about today’s events, and I defect to others on that one. But, today I will share two D-Day Veterans anyone can visit.

First up is the LT-5, “Major Elisha K. Henson”, and later known as the “John F. Nash”. The LT-5 is an Army “Large Tug”, built by Jakobson Shipbuilding in 1943. The LT-5 was used on D-Day towing various barges, in part of the operation of building an artificial harbor off of Normandy. After the war the tug was used by the Army Corps of Engineers in the Buffalo area, until begin retired in 1989. Today the LT-5 is part of the H. Lee White Maritime Museum in Oswego, New York.

H. Lee White Maritime Museum, Oswego, New York

The second ship is the LST-393, or Landing Ship – Tank. 393 was part of the late night landings on June 6th, and would ultimately make 30 round trips to the beach, earning 3 Battle Stars.

After the war, the LST-393 became a Ferry named the “Highway 16”, operating between Muskegon and Milwaukee. The 393 is one of only two (the other being LST-325) original LST’s remaining afloat in this country. LST-393 is now a museum boat in Muskegon, Michigan.

LST-393 Museum, Muskegon, Michigan

Another survivor on this page, is the engine in the header photo. This Cleveland 16-278A in the Sturgis, Michigan power plant, used to be in Destroyer Escort HMS Kingsmill (later DE-280). After the war the ship was scrapped, and the engine became one of four 278’s in this power plant. The HMS Kingsmill was at Normandy on June 6th doing Patrol work.

As always, thank a Veteran for their services that they performed for our freedoms.

Also, support our museums and museum ships. All over museums are struggling for support, even more so are the maritime related ones. It takes a lot of of effort to keep something afloat, especially when its 75+ years old. Visit, Support, Volunteer.