LST933 History
From: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol VII
LST933 was laid down as Hull #3403 on 23 June 1944 at Hingham, Mass. by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc.: launched on 26 July 1944; sponsored by Miss Helen M. Long; and commissioned on 20 August 1944, Lt. (jg) M. L. Stokes in command. During WWII, LST933 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the following operations: Palawan Island landings - February and March, 1945; Mindanao Island landings - April and May, 1945; assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto - June, 1945. Following the war, LST933 performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid February, 1946. She returned to the United States and was decommissioned on 2 July 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 15 August 1946. On 25 May 1948, the ship was sold to Hughes Bros., Inc., New York, N.Y. for scrapping. LST933 earned two battle stars for WWII service.
From: "The Saga of LCT1095" and personal memories of Al Horton, QMCS Ret. USN
From Pier 92 we boarded LST933 to find our craft, LCT1095 in three sections along with two sections of another LCT on the main deck. We were told that we would assemble the 1095 when we reached our destination. There was no liberty for anyone on the LST, and on an overcast morning the 933 backed from her berth and joined a large convoy outside New York Harbor. We headed South.
Several days out of New York the sea smoothed and while at sunrise General Quarters a hazy blur formed on the horizon. The 933 and another LST left the convoy and entered Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where we anchored until the following morning when we left for Panama.
After going through the Canal, we left Panama astern, entered the Pacific Ocean and welcomed a refreshing breeze.
October 24, 1944 with a bright sun and a calm sea we reached the equator at 120 degrees 05 minutes West longitude. Here is where we were initiated into the realm of King Neptune with full ceremony. Note: Al remembers Capt. Stokes sitting in his chair on the open bridge all during the Crossing the Equator Initiation and getting a big kick out of the "pollywogs" as they went through the ritual.
Al also remembers being the one, who on the mid-watch, woke Capt. Stokes who was sleeping in the sea cabin to report a bright light in the sky. Those on watch couldn't identify it and thought it might be a plane coming straight for the ship. It only took Capt. Stokes a minute to identify the light as Venus. He stayed calm and went back to bed.
When they reached Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands Group, the five sections of the two LCT's on deck were offloaded by a crane. This marked the end of their connection with the LST933.
From: "World War II Memoirs" of Charles L. Hakl, Chief Quartermaster, LST 933
Charles Hakl was reassigned from the European Theater where he served on LST 335. He was sent back to help put together a crew for the soon to be commissioned LST 933. Charles held the rate of Quartermaster which is critical in assisting the ship's navigator. He reported to the Hingham, Massachusetts shipyard in early August, 1944 to help get the ship ready.
The crew assembled and on August 20, 1944 the ship was commissioned. The Commanding Officer was Lt. Stokes, a mustang (former enlisted man) who came up through the Quartermaster ranks. He turned out to be a good skipper. The Engineering Officer was a mustang, the Executive Officer was an older lawyer from Cleveland and the rest of the officers were fresh out of officer training. The rest of the crew were a mixture of teen agers, including at least one 16 year old, and some older draftees. I remember that the radar man was an ordained minister, married with two young children.
Charles continues with a brief but interesting chronology of events that took place on the LST 933. In late 1945 he was sent back to the States and was discharged on December 7, 1945, four years to the day after Pearl Harbor.
