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WELCOME TO THE LST 1159 WEB SITE

This site was developed on WebTV. Some visitors have reported a problem with some of the links(branches) to other sections of the site. If you experience a problem please send me an Email and let me know where you had the problem. I will try to get the problem repaired as quickly as possible. Thanks.
The intent of this site is to commemorate all the sailors that have gone down to the sea in ships and more specificaly all the sailors that served aboard LST 1159 - Tom Green County from September 1953 through January 1972.The sailors and the ship compiled a record they can be proud of.

Following the ancient traditions of the sea, the sailors took care of the ship and the ship took care of them during peace time and during war.Tom Green County was awarded 12 engagement stars, two Navy Unit Commendations, and three Meritorious Unit Commendation for her Vietnam service.

This ship and her crew crossed the Pacific Ocean 8 times, operated extensively in the central and western Pacific waters, carried untold tons of every cargo imaginable, and more marines than anyone would want to count. She and the crew survived combat operations and carried on in the best tradition of the U.S. Navy. As an early crew member of LST 1159 I am impressed and proud of all the crew members that served, bringing honor to themselves, their ship, and their country. There are many stories about the men that served on this ship that made me feel this way. To read one of them click here.

There were approximately 145 sailors aboard when LST 1159 was commissioned. I am estimating that approximately every 2 years there is a crew turnover of 50%. In the 19 years LST 1159 operated and cruised, over 700 men were onboard for various lengths of time. It is my hope to make the information on this site available to any of these sailors that are interested in it.

To see an example of how well my hopes have been realized, read a comment from a shipmate by clicking here

CREW COMMENT

I have enjoyed the nostalgic trip back to these times. In some ways it seems like a lifetime ago, yet so much of it is still so very vivid in my mind. I guess this is what getting older does to you. This was a very formative period in my life and the good and bad memories alike have served me well and helped make me a better person. At least I like to think so. Jack Oldham

I have included this crew comment on the Welcome Page because it very eloguently expresses the sentiment suggested in the many crew comments I have received.
Ed Lange

This award is given to sites honoring the memory of decommissined Navy war ships.

The ships history has been divided into 7 cruises. The first three cruises begin with deployment to the the Western Pacific and ends when the vessel returns to the west coast of the USA. During July 1960 the home port of the Tom Green County was changed to Yokosuka and cruise 5 and 6 start when the "Tom" leaves Yokosuka and ends when she returns to her home port. Cruise 7 starts from Yokosuka and ends when the "Tom" returns to San Diego.

Each cruise has four parts:

1- The Cruise,
Presents a summary of the cruise, ports visited, operations engaged in, and comments from the crew that participated in the cruise between the dates indicated.

2- Photo Album,
Contains pictures contributed by crewmembers that participated in the cruise that has been summarized.

3- Crew Email Addresses,
Contains Email and Snail addresses of crew members that have visited the site and gave their permission to list their addresses.

4- A Memorial Page for Departed Shipmates.
Contains the names of shipmates that have departed this world on their last cruise.

In addition:
The Guest Book can be used for registering your Email Address, and making comments, telling sea stories, etc.

This structure was selected to encourage crew participation in the "fleshing out" and personaliztion of this site. This site is not mine. It belongs to all the crew members that served aboard LST 1159 - Tom Green County.

I encourage you to review the parts of the story that interest you, and implore you to contribute whatever pictures, memories, or sea stories you can. It is my feeling that your contributions will personalize the story for any of your shipmates that visit the site after you do. If you are still in contact with some of your shipmates, tell them about the site and ask them to visit and contribute

Scroll down and you will be able to select the Table of Content. The Table of Content permits browsing the site in any sequence you desire. From the Table of Contents you can follow the historical sequence of the ship or go directly to your specific cruise if you so desire.

This site still has several "bare bone" pages. I hope to fill these pages with contributions from you. My intent is to make the story of LST 1159 and her crew as complete and interesting as possible.

So once again, Welcome aboard. I hope your visit is interesting, and enjoyable.

Cold War Recognition Certificates are being issued by the US Government. Click to get application requirements.