Catch A Falling

USS LMS 45 .. Home From The War

LSM-45 in San Francisco Bay

circa 1945- 46. US Navy photo # NH79847. US Naval Historical Center I'm coming home The Last Patrol USS LSM 45 Update From: lastpatrol@aol.com To: dkmiller@zoominternet.net Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 8:30 AM Subject: Re: Lsm 45 Dear Dave and LSM/LSMR Association, We would like to bring everyone up to date on our progress for saving LSM 45.The Last Patrol made the trip down to inspect the ship and talk with the Museum of the Marine. 45 is sound, she looks a little rough because of the salt air and no real maintenance for the last 4 years. We also met with the Tug and property owner (Tim Mullane). Tim is donating the berthing and giving us a great deal on the tow up to Norfolk, VA. The ship will stay in Norfolk while we clean her up and raise the funding to move her up onto the Great Lakes. We have a board member that lives in the area. He will be tasked with watching over 45 and setting up working parties for her clean up and maintenance. The contracts for berthing and towing have been signed and=2 0delivered. The museum of the Marine has checked with the insurance company. The insurance has been paid for the year and will roll over with it. The State Dept. is taking care of the paper work they need and all should be completed soon. The Museum of the Marine’s board should be meeting soon to clear up everything on their end. Once they give us the go ahead, we will contact Mr. Mullane, he is ready to go as soon as he has the OK. Jeff and I will be getting with the Museum of the Marine to check on all the artifacts from the ship. They have already told us that they do go with the ship. We just need to find out how soon they need them moved and to set up trucking. Sincerely John T. Nowakowski -----Original Message----- From: dkmiller To: Last Patrol Sent: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 2:56 pm Subject: Lsm 45 Dear John: Our annual reunion is coming up the end of this month and I am looking for a lot of information that I can feed to the membership on the status of the LSM 45. Everybody is hoping everything is working out and we will at least have a berth for the ship. Anything you can give me would be great. Thanks Dave Miller WWII landing craft may hit road again JENNIFER HLAD July 9, 2008 - 11:52PM Four years ago, the ship was moved to Camp Lejeune's Mile Hammock Bay from Omaha, Neb., with great fanfare. Crews balanced Landing Ship Medium-45, welded portholes and hellholes, removed part of the 40-foot steel mast and painted the 203-foot-long, 35-foot-wide ship with 50 gallons of battleship-gray paint. Then it was moved by tug boat down the Mississippi and Ohio rivers through New Orleans, around the Florida Keys and up the Intracoastal Waterway. The World War II-era landing craft was intended to be part of the Museum of the Marine, then known as the Marine Corps Museum of the Carolinas. "She'll be more at home here than anywhere else," then-museum director Joe Houle told The Daily News in 2004. But when plans for a Jacksonville hotel and conference center dissolved, leaving the museum without the waterfront lot it originally planned on, the ship was left high and dry. "The ship can't be taken out of the water," Bill Ayers, interim executive director of the Museum of the Marine told The Daily News on Wednesday. "It just can't be done." Now, the museum - which plans to build on a landlocked piece of property near the Beirut Memorial - is in preliminary discussions with a military group called The Last Patrol to transfer the ship to a museum on Lake Erie. Representatives from The Last Patrol traveled to Jacksonville this week to check out the ship and determine if it can be tugged to a new location. But this is just the beginning of a long process, Ayers said. For the ship to be transferred from the Museum of the Marine to a different museum, Ayers said, local museum officials must have assurances in writing that the new location has a place to moor the ship, has a contract with a towing company and other stipulations. "It isn't like you go to a used car lot and pay cash for something," he said. The Department of State also must approve the transfer, Ayers said. The donors of the ship and another veteran organization donated at least $36,000 for the ship's upkeep, and Ayers said the Museum of the Marine has maintained it "as best we could." "I don't think it's deteriorated at all," he said. "We take very good care of it ... but we are very limited on any restorative work that we can do." When the ship first arrived, museum officials were required to remove most of the asbestos from the ship, which was extremely expensive, Ayers said. Some maintenance funds remain, though Ayers said he could not discuss the amount of money remaining. Any money left over when the ship is transferred will go with the ship, he said. LSM-45 is the last remaining ship of its kind in the United States still configured for its original purpose. The ship is not open to the public, but the museum schedules two days per month for people to tour or look at the ship by appointment, Ayers said, The Museum of the Marine contacted roughly 50 ship museums nationally to find a new home for the landing craft, but The Last Patrol was the only group that showed any interest, Ayers said. Contact interactive content editor Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8467. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report. Subject: LSM 45 Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 10:06:23 -0400 From: "Nowakowski, John" To: Good Morning Jim, I sent the e-mail below to Dave the other day and thought you might be interested to know what is going on. We are moving forward and hope to have her up to her temporary berth ASAP. John Monday 30 June 08 Good Morning Dave, Wanted to keep everyone updated, Jeff, I and the tug owner (Tim Mullane) will be in Jacksonville on the 8th and 9th of July. We meet with the staff from the Museum of the Marine. Then we will look 45 over get some pictures and sign for the ship. Tim will then let us know when his tug can get up to tow here to her temporary berth. I will forward pictures and copies of the paper work. John From: Nowakowski, John To: jnjheld@msn.com Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2008 9:24 AM Subject: LSM 45 Hi Ms. Judy, I wanted to let you know my brother Jeff and I are headed down to Jacksonville on the 8th to get some pictures and sign for her. The tug owner will be there to look her over so he is comfortable towing her. She will be towed up to Norfolk. Then on to the great lakes as soon as possible. We will talk with the Museum of the Marine and set up a plan to pick up all the artifacts. I will keep everyone up to date. Call or write with any questions, this is my work e-mail jnowakowski@rlcos.com John From: Nowakowski, John To: dkmiller@zoominternet.net Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:21 PM Subject: LSM 45 Hi Dave, I Want to let you and all the members know. The tug owner will be making the trip down to LSM 45 to inspect her this week, that way he know what he has as far as the tow goes. 45 will have good company at the temporary berth. The ATF Zuni/ USCGC Tamaroa will be berthed with her. Once in place we are going to try and get an article in Sea Classic and other publications trying to find help Tim (the tug owner) will be taking some photos for us. I will know more after the inspection and will keep you informed as to a date for the move. John A Museum Ship's problems. From: lastpatrol@aol.com To: dkmiller@zoominternet.net Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 9:01 AM Subject: LSM 45 Good Morning Dave, We have the berth in Norfolk, at no cost. The owner is also working on the tow up to his place. He is also working on ways of getting her to the great lakes with out a hugh tow bill. The museum of the Marine has started the paper work for the transfer of owner ship. We will be signing the ship over shortly. We are looking for funding to cover insurance and fuel for the tow. Everything is falling in place. Please let everyone know. John Story: Museum ship may call Port Clinton home port "Sandusky Register" or another view of the same story "I Am Coming Home" Sandusky Register Museum Article To: dkmiller@zoominternet.net, jamestusing@cox.net Subject: News artical Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:26:45 - 0500 From: lastpatrol@aol.com Gentlemen, I wanted to let you know the Sandusky Register is suppose to be running a story about the museum plans on Sunday or Monday. We have also been getting good news about other developments in the area that will help us. Sandusky Ohio is putting in a new shipyard and they want the work on LSM 45 to come to them, so they are willing to help find funding also. This is going to be a good year. Dave, let me know about the model. My wife has already told me she is up for a road trip if it is with in a couple state radius. Happy New Year John The Port Clinton waterfront May be changing as soon as this coming spring. Jim T I now can report on the LSM 45 as it has been reported to me in the last week. The military group known as “The Last Patrol” is moving forward in regards to the movement of the ship. The Mayor of Port Clinton, Ohio ( Where the ship is being moved too on Lake Erie) is working on the funding along with our organization. They have talked with the people in charge of the locks on the St. Laurence seaway and they have suggested that they do not tow her no sooner than the 1st of April 2008 due to the weather and ice. They have a Surveyor on standby and ready to go. They have already have talked with the insurance company and have a firm bid from the towing company. They have a meeting with the Mayor and his developer to go over the project. The mayor has given the go ahead to plan the entire museum in his development. The project has already been cleared by the voters and his city council. They are trying to move as fast as possible to get this done. The Marines in North Carolina are working on getting the approval that is needed to transfer the ship to this group. You may contact this group by E-Mail at lastpatrol@aol.com and address you remarks to John T Nowakowski Commanding Officer by David K. Miller The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and the "USS LSM 45" "A Stranger on the Shore" "The Flowers Of The Sea" These photos are for the world to see....They are now History. USS Amphibian aka USS LSM 45 I'm coming home. "Who can say where the road goes, Where the day flows, only time." ~ Enya From the Song, Only Time = USS LSN 45 and Pocket = Floating Museum