8 JUIN 1944 - LA FIN DU LST-499

Le 8 juin 1944, le LST-499 heurte probablement une mine en rejoignant la tête de pont. Le reporter de LIFE, Ralph MORSE, photographie le naufrage à bonne distance.

On sait ce qu'il transportait, et quelle était sa destination?

On sait ce qu'il transportait, et quelle était sa destination?

Extrait du récit d'un des membres de l'équipage. Le 8 juin, vidé de sa cargaison, le LST 499 faisait office de transport de blessés à rapatrier en G-B...

LST 499 went on to participate in D-Day on June 6, 1944, at Utah Beach. Our LST was unable to unload on the beach due to enemy artillery fire, so the ship remained approximately a half-mile off shore, and we unloaded our tanks and artillery onto LCT’s and LCM’s which went in the rest of the way. By the time they were all unloaded, it was dark and the weather was stormy. We stayed in that position until June 8th, when we beached our ship on Utah and loaded wounded on board our tank deck. Our ship had been staffed with medical personnel to treat their wounds and perform surgeries. As the ship was backing off of the beach, I was down below on the tank deck talking to a wounded soldier. When a fellow crew member came up to speak to the soldier, I walked away heading to my compartment through the laundry room. Two minutes later, our ship hit a mine at the stern. I was knocked out for a couple minutes. When I came to, I was laying in water that was coming down from the escape hatches. I went up to the top deck and then up another level to the 01 deck. I was ordered to go back down to the tank deck and help with the wounded. Once I arrived on scene, I realized that the soldier and sailor I had just been talking with had both been killed. I was in shock, and there was no time to think about it. I went to pick up a stretcher with a wounded soldier and my left knee gave out. Until then I didn’t realize I was hurt. Along with an injured leg, the left side of my jaw was cracked, my mouth was bloody, and I lost some teeth. I was evacuated from the ship for medical attention. Fourteen crew members died, but I never found out how many injured soldiers died as a result of the explosion of the mine.

https://exercisetigermemorial.co.uk/joh ... ry-lst-499

Merci Loïc, complément indispensable aux photos.