On one occasion while unloading gasoline in 50-gallon drums we ran across an empty one which we placed on top of the loaded barge. We were at the end of our shift so we signaled the beach not to send after us as we would be coming in on the barge.
The beach crew that was unloading barges was unaware of the empty drum. When the barge beached, a truck backed in for a load and I said, "Come on fellows, let's get this barge unloaded." I grabbed this drum, straining every muscle as with great difficulty and threw it on the truck. It was all unbelievable to the beach crew until it hit the truck, for then they realized by its sound that if was empty.
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The LST landing-ship-tanks was an ideal craft for moving cargo. It had a load capacity of 125 tons which we could load up to 650 four hundred pound oil drums, or four 32-ton tanks and take this load onto just about any sandy beach area. It was necessary to go in at a speed of about 5 knots to position the barge far enough onto the beach that a truck could go in or out after lowering the ramp.
To aid the motors in pulling the craft back off of the beach into deep water, the Skipper would winch in the cable onto an anchor that had been dropped several hundred feet while going in. (The name of this craft was changed to LSU, Landing Ships Utilities, in 1952 and the name LST was given to a larger landing craft).
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