WWII ship memorial docks in Moline

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By Kay Luna | Friday, August 29, 2008 9:49 PM CDT | () comments

The World War II landing ship tank 235, or LST-235, on Friday along the Moline riverfront. (Kevin E. Schmidt/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo

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He stood quietly inside the hulking World War II ship, in a room where military bunks hang on chains so closely together that it would be tough for men to climb in and out of them.

But 82-year-old Roald Zvornik of Moline would never think of lying down on the job.

Instead, he wanted to bask in the moment Friday, standing proudly in his khaki uniform, welcoming some of the Quad-Cities’ first visitors to the ship he traveled to Greece to help restore in the year 2000.

Although he did not join the crew of 29 retired veterans — including two other Quad-City men — who sailed the USS LST-325 Ship Memorial back to the United States and helped restore it further into a floating museum, Zvornik is heavily involved with the ship’s volunteer-based operations.

He has been asking and waiting for years to see the football-field-sized ship — headquartered in Evansville, Ind. — dock in the Quad-Cities for the first time.

“It’s a wish come true,” he said. “My ship finally came in.”

This LST, or landing ship tank, is one of the last operating vessels of its kind in the world, and it will stay docked for tours in Moline through Tuesday. It then will travel to Clinton, Iowa, where it will remain docked on that city’s riverfront until Sept. 8.

The ship is historic for its participation in the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, as well as other invasions and missions, including some Arctic operations in the 1950s.

Many of its original fixtures remain, and much restoration work has been completed — but a lot still remains to be done, said Capt. Robert Jornlin, who was also the captain of the crew that brought the ship back from Greece.

He pointed to peeling paint on the metal walls and ceiling of the tank deck, the large lower floor where visitors enter on their tour. Jornlin said the area could hold 20 tanks, or up to 1,000 prisoners of war, during its missions.

The ship was unique because it was the only design that allowed the military to pull up to a beach and unload tanks and other equipment by driving them off a ramp.

A 1942 ambulance now sits inside the inner deck, along with some tables where ship memorabilia is sold.

On the outer decks, several old anti-aircraft guns point out across the Mississippi River.

Two smaller vessels known as LCVPs, or landing craft vehicle personnel, hang along the sides. They were used to haul up to 28 men to shore, and these particular ones were used by Clint Eastwood in the filming of the WW II movie, “Flags of Our Fathers,” Jornlin said.

Visitors can wander the decks and the interior, peeking inside the captain’s quarters and the wheelhouse, among other places.

Although the ship still includes WW II touches, it also carries remnants of its long history of service to the Greek Navy. Several paintings on the walls of the ship are Greek, or depict Greek symbols, including that nation’s flag.

Everywhere you turn, a retired veteran volunteer stands on board, waiting to answer questions and greet new visitors. The dedication of these volunteers, and the restoration of the ship, blew away Errol McCollum.

“I can’t say enough how impressed I am,” the 68-year-old Moline man told Zvornik. “What a tremendous effort.”

The best word William “Tom” Gilbert of Abingdon, Ill., could come up with to describe the experience was “fantastic,” and then the 81-year-old Navy veteran leaned in closer.

Lowering his voice, he said, “It made me cry.”

“I think this is one of the best things to ever come to the Quad-Cities,” he added.

Kay Luna can be contacted at (563) 383-2323 or kluna@qctimes.com.