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WWII diary of J.J. McAndrews: A journey to ‘hell’Posted by LT Stephanie Young, Wednesday, November 6, 2013In the weeks leading up to Veterans Day, Coast Guard Great Lakes has been sharing the story of Petty Officer 3rd Class J.J. McAndrews. From his journey across the Atlantic Ocean into the Mediterranean Sea for the invasion of Italy, then to the shores of Normandy for D-Day, the series comes from the day-to-day diary written by McAndrews, a boatswain’s mate aboard a landing ship during the war. The text that follows was taken directly from McAndrews’ diary. Many punctuation errors were retained as they were written, however, slight edits were made to enhance readability.This diary is dedicated to my children and my grandchildren. I hope they read it as it highlights my adventures serving aboard USS LST 326 during World War II.My ship is called Landing Ship, Tank 175. It is a Coast Guard invasion barge. Its length is 327 feet. It has a flat bottom and, carries a crew of 75 men including 7 officers. The captain’s name is Lt. J.C. Saussey. This ship is capable of landing on beachheads. It is only about 5 months old. For protection it mans two 20mm guns and a 40mm gun in the bow. Amidship a little to the rear is two more 20mm guns and also two more of the 20mm just forward of the fantail. On the fantail we have a three inch 50 caliber gun. The ship is powered by diesel engines.This is the first entry in the WWII diary of James “J.J.” McAndrews, a Coast Guardsman aboard LST 175, for his first trip across the Atlantic, and then aboard LST 326, for the invasions of Italy and France.McAndrews is the second son and third child of Thomas and Maisey McAndrews of Belle Harbor on Long Island, N.Y. Thomas and Maisey had six children, but their youngest daughter, Jean, died of German measles at the age of three.McAndrews joined the Coast Guard in the summer of 1942 after graduating from St. John’s Preparatory School in Brooklyn, N.Y.“Jim was a great man and very proud of his service in the Coast Guard,” said William Koehler, McAndrews’ son-in-law.McAndrews began his Coast Guard career in January 1943 in Norfolk, Va., and after training was assigned to LST 175.My first glimpse of my ship was in Providence Rhode Island. The ship was already loaded at this time. I first came aboard on July 20, 1943. I met my future buddies, the crew, and they all seems like swell fellers. We stayed in Rhode Island for two days and then we set out to sea, our destination being Norfolk.
The major thing I've learned from the vast majority of your posts, is the importance of the USCG. I was (wrongly) the impression that they were stationed along US coasts during WWII, as they are now. Thank you for expanding my horizons.
Interesting - I was just going to ask whether I was posting too much in the way of Coast Guard things.
Post away. I post a lot of squid stuff and stuff from the other branches when I come across it...if we need more balance gotta draw in more Jarheads and Dogfaces!
Quote from: Libertas on November 09, 2013, 09:03:41 AMPost away. I post a lot of squid stuff and stuff from the other branches when I come across it...if we need more balance gotta draw in more Jarheads and Dogfaces! I get about 10 articles a week from a CG buddy, all from the CG website, and I select a few to post here. Maybe I should start a subcategory for the Coast Guard.
