Mosier's Raiders: The Story of LST-325

by David Bronson

The LST was a ship designed to perform a dirty and dangerous task, to land on an enemy-held beach and disgorge her load of tanks and men. LST stood for "Landing Ship, Tank," but to the sailors who served aboard these ungainly ships it also meant "Large Slow Target." The LST wasn't very pretty to look at, and it wasn't as glamorous as the powerful battleships and legendary aircraft carriers whose names have gone down in history. In fact, LSTs weren't given the honor of a name at all, they would only be known by their hull number.Mosier's Raiders is the story of one of these ships, the USS LST-325, a veteran of the invasions of Sicily, Salerno and Normandy. Drawn from extensive interviews with the men who served aboard her, Mosier's Raiders is not just the story of a ship; it is about a group of strangers coming together as a team, and the bond of brotherhood that carried them through the worst war had to offer.

190 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Zach Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all-time favorite books about Landing Ship, Tanks (LSTs). Author David Bronson is the son of veteran James G. Bronson—who served aboard the USS LST 325 during World War II.

Exhaustively researched, this book is filled with firsthand accounts and interviews with the sailors who served aboard the LST 325 during the European Theater. The story takes the reader through the ship's commissioning in early 1943, its journey across the Atlantic Ocean, and its battles in North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, and the D-Day invasion at Normandy. Almost the entire story is told by the sailors themselves, including so many hilarious sea stories. My favorite part of the book was reading the original articles from the ship's newspaper ("The Stars and Stripes at Sea") that the crew created during the war. The LST 325 is one of the only LSTs from WWII that still exists today, currently docked as a floating museum in Evansville, Indiana.

[Bill Bitner · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Bronson is the son of one of the crew of the LST-325. This is the ship that decades later would be brought by from Greece to be the LST Memorial Ship in Evansville, Indiana (See Bringing Back a Hero). This is a very well researched and presented story. Throughout the book are interviews with many of the original crew as the author traces the history of this LST. Weaved into the story are as-pects of war in general and of the LST capabilities and role. It was a quick read at about 175 pages.