Wreck of USS LST-523

France / Basse-Normandie / Saint-Martin-de-Varreville /
 Second World War 1939-1945, shipwreck, Landing Ship Tank (LST), United States Navy
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USS LST-523 was a LST-511 Class Tank Landing Ship built for the US Navy at the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co. in Indiana, laid down in October 1943 and commissioned into US Navy service in February 1944. Like many of her sisterships, she transited the length of the Mississippi River to New Orleans, was fully manned and stood out for European Waters in convoy, arriving in time to take her part in "Operation Overlord", known today as the D-Day landings.

Assigned to the Western Task Force, Follow-up Force B at Falmouth, the LST-523 and her crew made two round trips to the Normandy Beachhead, each time delivering supplies and removing wounded. On her third trip with the men and material of the 300th Engineer Combat Battalion embarked in addition to her crew of 195 and a 40-man medical staff, the LST-523 struck a mine while maneuvering from the Utah Beach anchorage to the beachhead.

The force of the blast split the LST in two pieces and sank her at this location on June 19th, 1944, with 94 men of the 300th and 41 of her crew carried down with her.

A truly harrowing account of the life and death of USS LST-523 and the men who served aboard her can be found here:
www.300thcombatengineersinwwii.com/lst523.html

For her actions in the Second World War LST-523 earned one Battle Star.
www.navsource.org/archives/10/16/160523.htm
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   49°28'41"N   1°8'9"W

Comments

  • two brothers from my home town of Columbus, Ne died on that ship. One was recoverd and that was Ludwing Pieper and the brother who is MIA is Julius Pieper. A VFW post is named after the two brothers. Can any one shed any light on these two men? Jim Schaefer Columbus Ne
  • My uncle, William H. Carney Jr., was killed when LST-523 hit the mine before landing at Utah Beach during the Normandy Invasion. He was a US Navy Gunners Mate and was one of the ship's crew members.
  • My grandpa Richard Haetinger was also on the 523 as a gunners mate. He survived and was able to save quite a few other men while floating in the British channel for hours
  • My uncle, John Lofton, Seaman First Class, was lost in the sinking of 523.
  • I think my grandpa Richard Beard was on the 523 apart of the 300th engineer battalion and floated in the water for hours until rescued. He didn't talk about it much but if anyone could share some information it would be greatly appreciated
  • My great uncle Cecil Nolan was lost on this ship. Prayers to all
  • I believe my grandfather James F. Kimmel was aboard the 523 I was told his ship was sank by a mine at Omaha. Would anybody have a list of the men that was on her with she sank?
  • The sinking of the LST-523 is detailed in the NOVA documentary D-Day's Sunken Secrets, including a visit by a Navy Hospital Corpsman who had tended wounded and dead from the Normandy beaches and the sinking to the underwater wreck aboard a research submersible just a few years ago. It's an excellent episode, and well worth watching.
  • My grandfather was killed on the ship. I recently met a few survivors through the website mentioned above. I so wish I started looking years ago. Feel free to contact me!
  • My Father was aboard the 523 when she went down. He was actually listed as a casualty. My father later served on USS LST 524 to finish his tour.
  • my dad, Roy Eugene Farmer, from Marshalltown, Iowa, who worked in the engine room, was among the crew lost that day. i was born May 22, 1943, nd he only had about 2 or 3 months with me.
  • My uncle, Capt. Elmer L. Reitz, was an officer of the 207th Combat Engineers who was aboard LST-523 on June 19, 1944, when the ship hit a mine while trying to land at Utah Beach in Normandy. He was trapped in the stern of the ship and drowned. Prayers for him and for all the brave men lost in that tragedy.
  • My uncle, Carl Dalton Shuler from Washington State was listed as missing in action and later declared killed in action on this ship.
  • Michael Jeselnick God Bless all deceased and survivors and family members of the LST-523 tragedy. The bravery of these soldiers and all the soldiers that gave their lives and service is what makes this country great. This evidence of bravery is why we must continue to defend our nation and the principles of democracy that our Founding Fathers based our governmental structure upon. We must prevail in the defense of these principles otherwise the truest sense of freedom will perish. We have a duty and owe a duty to the sacrificed lives lost in wartime to defend and preserve our destiny of our great country, The United States of America.
  • My grandfather William Krueger was on this ship as well. He has passed away but he was a wonderful man and he is greatly missed. God bless all of the survivors and also the ones who lost their life fighting for our country.
  • My father, Jack Greenhaw, was one of the few that floated out of the broken ship and lived. He had a lot of shrapnel damage and was sent to the hospital for 7 weeks. Then he was back to the fighting and served through the Battle of the Bulge.
  • My uncle Don Richter passed away last week . He was not aboard that fateful trip . Saved by his typing skills . Will miss you Uncle . Life fully served and lived.
  • Private Prisciliano Martinez Saucedo was killed while assigned to the 300th Engineers aboard the Landing Ship Tanker (LST-523) when it hit a mine and split in two. Pvt Saucedo was born in Zacatecas, Mexico on January 21, 1916. He was drafted into the Army from Benavdes, Texas. He is buried in the Benavides City Cemetery, Benavides, Duval County, Texas. .
  • My Uncle James (Jimmie) H. Lassen died on 523. We just found out the name of the ship. Never knew any details until now.
  • One KIA from L-523 Julian Peiper has recently been identified https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/nebraska-twins-killed.html
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This article was last modified 11 years ago