TORONTO – For anyone to set out on a cross-country run is a remarkable feat. For a 91-year-old, it’s even more so.
But what makes Ernie Andrus’ run particularly meaningful is the reason he’s running: to return his old ship, LST 325, to the site of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France.
The U.S. Navy veteran dipped his toe into the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, California, on October 7, 2013, and set off on his cross-country run. He planned to reach the Atlantic Ocean in Brunswick, Georgia within two to four years.
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According to his website, he runs between a half marathon and full marathon a week. As of now, Andrus said he’s about a year away from completing his journey.
“I had heard about other guys running across the country, and it just sounded like something fun to do,” Andrus said.
In the naval parlance of the time, LST stood for “Landing Ship, Tank”. With a length of over 100 metres and a weight of nearly 5,000 pounds fully loaded, the ship’s purpose was to ferry men, material, and tanks directly onto enemy shores in support of amphibious landings.
Launched in 1942, LST-325 served in amphibious assaults in North Africa and Italy before being part of Operation Overlord, the Allied assault on Northern France in June of 1944 (otherwise known as D-Day).
According to military records, LST-325 served in the attack on the American sector codenamed “Omaha Beach,” a battle popularized in the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan.
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It’s at this location where Andrus would like to see his old ship, the only LST craft still in operational service today, returned.
“Plans were being made to return the ship to Normandy for the D-Day memorial service (D-Day plus 70, 2014) and beach it at the same location where it was on Omaha beach 70 years before,” Andrus wrote on his website. “The cost of taking this ship across the Atlantic and back is tremendous. Shortage of finances caused the 2014 trip to be canceled. Perhaps we can raise enough money for D Day plus 75 in 2019.”
Anyone who wishes to donate to Andrus’ cause can do so at his website here. You can learn more about the history of LST-325 at the ship’s memorial website here.
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