Hidden history: Higgins boats and LSTs
by Chris Veech 10 Feb 2018 10:25 PST
Higgins Boats and LSTs © Chris Veech
A boat builder named Andrew Jackson Higgins bridged racial gaps during World War II. His seven New Orleans factories were the first to be integrated in the city. By the end of the war, the Higgins workforce churned out 20,000 boats.
There was a remarkable connection between the Higgins Boats and the LSTs. More than 160 of the warships were built at the Evansville shipyard.
"You were sea sick, you were throwing up," said LST 325 Board of Directors member Chris Donahue, "and then you where running across a thousand feet of machine gun fire like at Normandy. So the reputation of the boat was fine but you knew where it was taking you. It was taking you to Hell pretty much. Hell on Earth."
The Higgins Boats were designed to get 36 troops to shore where their fate awaited them. They were paired with the Evansville built LSTs including the LST 325.
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