You'll soon have the chance to see a piece of World War II-era history when the LST Memorial 325 visits Cape Girardeau in late September. The LST was a participant in the D-Day invasion of Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.
Stacy Dohogne Lane with the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau stopped by the KRCU studios to tell us more about the visit by this historic ship and about other historical activities coming to Cape Girardeau.
Woods: So, let's talk about the Landing Ship Tank. This is a big event coming to Downtown Cape Girardeau.
Lane: It is and its literally big, the ship is huge!
Woods: And tell us the dates and when we can expect it to show up.
Lane: Sure. So the LST Memorial 325 will be open for tours at Cape Girardeau's riverfront Thursday, September 29 through October 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. During World War II, there were over 1,000 of these ships manufactured at five different shipyards throughout the U.S. This is the very last one remaining. The LST 325, she won't be getting pulled in by a tug or anything, she'll be arriving here at our riverfront under her full power. So, she's fully operational. We're really excited to welcome them to the riverfront.
Woods: Will there be a charge for folks to do the tour?
Lane: There are it starts at $10.00 for adults and I believe it ramps down to $5.00 for ages 6-17 and then kids 5 and under are free.
Woods: There's some other activities going [on] along with this visit I understand.
Lane: Yes. So, we really wanted to do our due diligence to make sure that we're rolling out the red carpet for the folks on the LST and taking this opportunity to really honor our veterans. So we reached out to the SEMO Military Vehicle Association and they're going to set up a living camp at the corner of Broadway and Spanish with a focus on World War II. So, they'll have the uniforms, some different rifles and everything, demonstrations...a full-on living encampment that the public is welcome to walk through free of charge and visit with all of those folks as part of that military encampment there. And they'll also have displays down at the riverfront for folks waiting in line. I heard that they might be bringing an actual tank down so that will be really cool to see.
Woods: I guess along with all of these activities there's going to be a B-17 out at the Cape airport, I guess around this same time?
Lane: Yes! Bruce Loy and our friends down at the Cape Regional Airport heard about the LST and reached out to us because they had this B-17 on their radar and we said, "That sounds great, the more the merrier." So you can also get a feel for what life was like in the U.S. Air Force at the Cape airport. It's September 27-October 2 and they've got climb aboard ground tours happening for a $5.00 suggested donation. So, it's right around those same dates that the LST is in town. So you can see military navel life with the LST in our downtown area and then you can take a short 10-minute drive and see the B-17 at the regional airport and then because if that's not enough historical action happening in Cape Girardeau, we've also got the first annual Cape Girardeau Heritage Days going on that weekend. So you can also get a feel for all Cape's historic attractions over the same time period.
Woods: A lot of things going on and there are a lot of things going on downtown and because of that parking could be a concern. So you may want to share with folks what kind of plans there are for that.
Lane: Yes, so parking is going to be a bit tight with everything happening -- which what a problem to have, right, all these great events to choose from in Downtown Cape Girardeau. So, we've worked with the City of Cape Girardeau and the Cape PD and our friends at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau and the Show Me Center and put together parking maps for every day that the LST is docked here and you can download those at VisitCape.com/LST. And there you'll also find a lot of information about the LST, all the history behind this incredible piece of history. There's also a ticket giveaway that you can enter to win some tickets to tour the LST while they're here in Cape Girardeau.
Woods: Very exciting...so a lot of activities for folks who are interested in anything really with World War II.
Lane: That's right and then really for folks with any level of historical interest, Heritage Days will be going on right next door. So, definitely a weekend to be in Cape Girardeau if you've got an interest in history.
