FORT KNOX, Ky. — Over 50 members of the U.S. LST Association got a bit of a shock Oct. 4 when they walked into the hull of a facility at Fort Knox that was responsible for countless successes in World War II and beyond.
Simply called the LST Building, or Building 1538, association members walked just inside and saw what it could have been like for U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and British personnel before World War II to spend countless hours working out how to vent tank exhaust and maneuver up to 20 Sherman tanks in and out of the building before the real “Landing Ship, Tank” crafts set sail for open waters.
The association members had been attending an annual reunion, which turned out to be in Louisville this year. While so near by Fort Knox, they reached out and decided to tour a couple of key historical spots at the Central Kentucky Army installation.
Many of the association members, some of them former Navy personnel who worked in and on LSTs during the Korean and Vietnam wars, enjoyed learning about the LST’s roots at Fort Knox.
“I didn’t know about this building until we were planning to come here,” said Denis Merideth, chairman of the association. “This is part of what helped people learn about LSTs. This helped people in the planning stage to understand the logistics and learning about possible trouble with embarkation and debarkation.”
The first stop during their tour of Fort Knox was at the Patton Museum. They were welcomed by Command Sgt. Maj. Sherman Waters, senior noncommissioned officer of Fort Knox Garrison.
Waters explained that while he didn’t know a lot about LSTs, he did know some things about Fort Knox’s history, especially the installation’s history since its centennial year of existence – 2018.
He provided a brief snapshot of the importance of Fort Knox to the world today: from U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s role in maintaining the personnel records of all Army personnel and U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s role in worldwide recruiting efforts to the command and support roles of V Corps in Europe and 1st Theater Support Command in the Middle East.
Waters and Ty Reid, director of the museum, answered several questions before releasing the members to explore the museum.
In the museum, association members and their families discovered an LST exhibit tucked in just beyond Gen. George S. Patton Jr.’s car that he was reported to be traveling in when he suffered fatal injuries shortly after the war. Some association members seized the opportunity to take pictures in front of a mockup of USS Lincoln County (LST-898), which saw action in the Pacific Front of World War II and later during the Korean War.
At the site of the LST Building, association members asked several questions of Niki Mills, Fort Knox archaeologist and Cultural Resources manager. One question dealt with the future of the building since its decommissioning several years ago after being a storage facility for several tanks and vehicles.
Mills and others suggested they are exploring ways to preserve the building. Merideth said he was thankful for the experience.
“I hope they find something useful to do with the building because it’s a relic,” said Merideth. “I’m happy to come here and learn how people learned. Like many historic things, once you don’t need them anymore people want to throw them away.”
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