(Army 17) I moved from Fort Kam, Hawaii to Abuyog, Leyte, the Philippines.

I was excited. I was heading for Leyte to rejoin my outfit, the 154th Engineering Battalion.

I boarded a brand new LST at Pearl Harbor in the Fall of 1944. The ship had been built in the Northeast and sailed to sea down the Mississippi River. It was manned by the Coast Guard. It had full provisions so we received three meals a day.. The ship was rigged so that the spout from an urn full of hot fresh coffee protruded into the hall outside the kitchen. Boy the passengers and crew enjoyed that. Hot fresh running coffee 24/7. Believe or not, I did not yet drink coffee. You see, I was too young. I did not start drinking coffee until I got to Korea,

We did not sleep in a crowded stuffy hold. There was a LCM strapped to the deck of the LST. The LCM is a small LST. Landing Craft Mechanical. There was about five feet between the LST deck and the bottom of the LCM. That is where we set up our cots and slept for six weeks. And played pinochle all today.

The load of the LCM lowered the speed of the LST to 5 miles per hour. Imagine! work all day and night and move 120 miles in a day. The journey to Leyte was 5300 miles. It took us six weeks.

During the trip a piece of the bullets in my leg moved to the skin. The ship had a Doctor who cut it out.

Sleep, eat, and play pinochle all day.

LST

LCM

LCM was strapped on the deck of LST. Nice bedroom between the two ships.