The LST 534 was built in Evansville, Indiana and sailed down the Ohio River to the Mississippi River. On January 31, 1944 in New Orleans, the commissioning took place. Then numerous practice maneuvers were preformed in Pensacola, Florida. After loading up, the LST 534 headed North on March 7, 1944 in a convoy. Captain Olson believing the convoy wasn’t going fast enough, requested permission to speed along independently. Permission was granted!!!

The LST 534 made many more crossings than she was designed for during the invasion of the Normandy beaches of D-DAY. After the European victory, the LST 534 and her men re-crossed the Atlantic for a long and memorable leave in New York before setting off for the Pacific. She campaigned in the long war against the Japanese before being severely damaged by a kamikaze attack off Okinawa just days before the war ended. Unrepairable, she was finally towed to sea and sunk.

Note: Get a first hand account of the history of the LST 534 by reading the crews’ interviews.