USS Crook County (LST-611)
A reunion of 1940-1950s era Navy veterans was held Sundance, Crook County, Wyoming on July 4, 2005. Veterans were former crewmembers of Navy ship LST-611, also known as the USS Crook County.
A letter dated May 26, 1955 and addressed to the Crook County Commissioners, was discovered in the files at Crook County Museum. The letter was written to inform the commissioners that a Navy ship, the LST-611, was being christened the USS Crook County, after counties in Wyoming and Oregon. When no further information was discovered in museum or library files, an internet search was made – among the information discovered was a short list of former crewmembers with their email addresses. Messages to those email addresses produced an outpouring of reminiscences from crewmembers grateful to have interest expressed in their ship and their experiences.
The LST-611 was an ungainly, flat-bottomed breed of ship known as “Landing Ship Tank,” designed to transport tanks, men and equipment directly onto the beaches of war zones in Europe and the Pacific during World War II. Because the LSTs were designed to “skid” right up onto the beaches to unload their cargo, they were not expected to survive their initial landings and were not assigned names. This particular LST belied their expectations during a varied life plying the Pacific waters – Philippine landings during World War II, Korean landings during the Korean War, milk runs throughout the Pacific Trust Territories before and after the Korean War, and a top secret mission to collect samples during the H-bomb testing at Bikini Atoll -- earning three battle stars during World War II and two battle stars during the Korean War.
The LST-611 was built at the “Prairie Shipyard” of the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company in Seneca, Illinois and launched on April 28, 1944. She was then sailed down the Illinois River to the Mississippi River, then on to New Orleans, Louisiana where she was commissioned on May 15, 1944 and turned over to her Navy crew, commanded by Lt. Roy E. Burton. Following a shakedown cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, she sailed through the Panama Canal to San Diego, then on to her homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Too late for the landings at Saipan, she was in time to join the convoy headed for the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines – she landed troops and equipment at Leyte, then Mindoro Island. When she returned for another landing at Leyte she was bombed and holed in the main engine room, killing four crewmembers. Refloated and pushed to one side of the harbor, she was stripped of equipment and supplies until finally her captain made a personal plea to Admiral Nimitz and she was towed back to Pearl Harbor, then on to San Pedro, California for repairs.
While she was undergoing repairs, the war in Japan ended. She was returned to Pearl Harbor as part of Material Salvage Unit #1, transporting Seabees to various Pacific locations for salvage operations. Upon completion of the salvage mission, she was detailed as a cargo ship, sailing throughout the Pacific Trust Territories, carrying copra (dried coconut meat), coconuts, chickens, ducks, cows, pigs, dried fish, and wandering islanders. She earned the nickname “Copra Queen” as she visited remote and exotic locations in the Marshall Islands, the Marianas and the Carolines, Kwajalein, Noumea, Samoa, and more…
When North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 the LST 611 was the only American LST in Yokosuka, Japan and was pressed into service training novice LST commanders in ship handling and beaching. She landed troops on the beaches of Pusan, Pohang-Dong, and Inchon, as well as making ammunition runs between Japan and Korea.
After her service in Korea she returned to service on the “Copra Run.” Crewmembers commented on this service in a letter to the “Our Navy” publication: “There are few vessels…who have had the privilege of hauling bug-infested copra, coconuts, dried & frozen fish, live sea turtles, dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, cows, pigs, goats, Pacific Islanders, and even Marines and Sea Bees. Very few vessels have had the opportunity, year in and year out, to operate in the sweltering tropical Mid-Pacific heat surrounded by carnivorous flies in the daytime and blood sucking mosquitoes at night. Endless islands, all appearing the same, unmarked harbors, blinding coral, tropical thunderstorms, periodic typhoons, non-existent liberty, and formaldehyde laden beer (when available) mark the daily routine which is broken only by a few days of liberty and recreation at that famous Mid-Pacific paradise called Guam…”
Finally recognized for their usefulness and longevity, the LSTs were assigned names in 1955. Back in Pearl Harbor on July 30, 1955, the LST-611 was christened the USS Crook County. The official reason for the choice of the name Crook County is unknown, but crewmembers speculated that “these two particular counties were known for two things: rugged and durable people and rugged and tough terrain. This LST was a rugged, durable and tough ship, so the name seemed appropriate.”
She was called back to active duty in 1956 for refitting for a top secret operation called Operation Redwing. Extraneous features were removed from her exterior surfaces, measuring devices were installed and a sealed control room was built into the bowels of the ship. When the H-bombs were exploded over the Bikini Islands, she was one of the ships tasked with steaming under the radiation cloud to collection samples and readings.
Her work over, she was finally removed from service in 1956 and mothballed -- in 1959 she sailed one final time to a location off the California coast, where she was torpedoed and sunk.
Her memory lingers in the minds of the crewmembers who served aboard her and they are now reconnecting after 50 years. Ted Brand, one of the original crewmembers and unofficial ship historian, has spent a lifetime collecting information and contacting former crewmembers, organizing a reunion in 1985 and now nearing completion of a book on her history. Crewmembers have been sending us their reminiscences, as well as packages and boxes of memorabilia – Frank Shoptaugh led the way with dozens of email messages, followed by a box containing books, glass floats off fishing nets, newspaper clippings, pictures, official Navy photos, ID cards, and a commission pennant. He said of the 611, “our ship seemed to get selected for many unusual, odd jobs that came up, no matter where we were at the time.”
Pete Murdoch commented on his recent visit with old buddy Leon Knutson, “It is a wonderful thing to get together and mull over the past, wonder about the future…Sonny brought up things that he remembered and I did the same and we would laugh and laugh. We really had fun. Think of all the fun all of us could have in Sundance together…Here’s to old friends and good times.”
A letter dated May 26, 1955 and addressed to the Crook County Commissioners, was discovered in the files at Crook County Museum. The letter was written to inform the commissioners that a Navy ship, the LST-611, was being christened the USS Crook County, after counties in Wyoming and Oregon. When no further information was discovered in museum or library files, an internet search was made – among the information discovered was a short list of former crewmembers with their email addresses. Messages to those email addresses produced an outpouring of reminiscences from crewmembers grateful to have interest expressed in their ship and their experiences.
The LST-611 was an ungainly, flat-bottomed breed of ship known as “Landing Ship Tank,” designed to transport tanks, men and equipment directly onto the beaches of war zones in Europe and the Pacific during World War II. Because the LSTs were designed to “skid” right up onto the beaches to unload their cargo, they were not expected to survive their initial landings and were not assigned names. This particular LST belied their expectations during a varied life plying the Pacific waters – Philippine landings during World War II, Korean landings during the Korean War, milk runs throughout the Pacific Trust Territories before and after the Korean War, and a top secret mission to collect samples during the H-bomb testing at Bikini Atoll -- earning three battle stars during World War II and two battle stars during the Korean War.
The LST-611 was built at the “Prairie Shipyard” of the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company in Seneca, Illinois and launched on April 28, 1944. She was then sailed down the Illinois River to the Mississippi River, then on to New Orleans, Louisiana where she was commissioned on May 15, 1944 and turned over to her Navy crew, commanded by Lt. Roy E. Burton. Following a shakedown cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, she sailed through the Panama Canal to San Diego, then on to her homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Too late for the landings at Saipan, she was in time to join the convoy headed for the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines – she landed troops and equipment at Leyte, then Mindoro Island. When she returned for another landing at Leyte she was bombed and holed in the main engine room, killing four crewmembers. Refloated and pushed to one side of the harbor, she was stripped of equipment and supplies until finally her captain made a personal plea to Admiral Nimitz and she was towed back to Pearl Harbor, then on to San Pedro, California for repairs.
While she was undergoing repairs, the war in Japan ended. She was returned to Pearl Harbor as part of Material Salvage Unit #1, transporting Seabees to various Pacific locations for salvage operations. Upon completion of the salvage mission, she was detailed as a cargo ship, sailing throughout the Pacific Trust Territories, carrying copra (dried coconut meat), coconuts, chickens, ducks, cows, pigs, dried fish, and wandering islanders. She earned the nickname “Copra Queen” as she visited remote and exotic locations in the Marshall Islands, the Marianas and the Carolines, Kwajalein, Noumea, Samoa, and more…
When North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 the LST 611 was the only American LST in Yokosuka, Japan and was pressed into service training novice LST commanders in ship handling and beaching. She landed troops on the beaches of Pusan, Pohang-Dong, and Inchon, as well as making ammunition runs between Japan and Korea.
After her service in Korea she returned to service on the “Copra Run.” Crewmembers commented on this service in a letter to the “Our Navy” publication: “There are few vessels…who have had the privilege of hauling bug-infested copra, coconuts, dried & frozen fish, live sea turtles, dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, cows, pigs, goats, Pacific Islanders, and even Marines and Sea Bees. Very few vessels have had the opportunity, year in and year out, to operate in the sweltering tropical Mid-Pacific heat surrounded by carnivorous flies in the daytime and blood sucking mosquitoes at night. Endless islands, all appearing the same, unmarked harbors, blinding coral, tropical thunderstorms, periodic typhoons, non-existent liberty, and formaldehyde laden beer (when available) mark the daily routine which is broken only by a few days of liberty and recreation at that famous Mid-Pacific paradise called Guam…”
Finally recognized for their usefulness and longevity, the LSTs were assigned names in 1955. Back in Pearl Harbor on July 30, 1955, the LST-611 was christened the USS Crook County. The official reason for the choice of the name Crook County is unknown, but crewmembers speculated that “these two particular counties were known for two things: rugged and durable people and rugged and tough terrain. This LST was a rugged, durable and tough ship, so the name seemed appropriate.”
She was called back to active duty in 1956 for refitting for a top secret operation called Operation Redwing. Extraneous features were removed from her exterior surfaces, measuring devices were installed and a sealed control room was built into the bowels of the ship. When the H-bombs were exploded over the Bikini Islands, she was one of the ships tasked with steaming under the radiation cloud to collection samples and readings.
Her work over, she was finally removed from service in 1956 and mothballed -- in 1959 she sailed one final time to a location off the California coast, where she was torpedoed and sunk.
Her memory lingers in the minds of the crewmembers who served aboard her and they are now reconnecting after 50 years. Ted Brand, one of the original crewmembers and unofficial ship historian, has spent a lifetime collecting information and contacting former crewmembers, organizing a reunion in 1985 and now nearing completion of a book on her history. Crewmembers have been sending us their reminiscences, as well as packages and boxes of memorabilia – Frank Shoptaugh led the way with dozens of email messages, followed by a box containing books, glass floats off fishing nets, newspaper clippings, pictures, official Navy photos, ID cards, and a commission pennant. He said of the 611, “our ship seemed to get selected for many unusual, odd jobs that came up, no matter where we were at the time.”
Pete Murdoch commented on his recent visit with old buddy Leon Knutson, “It is a wonderful thing to get together and mull over the past, wonder about the future…Sonny brought up things that he remembered and I did the same and we would laugh and laugh. We really had fun. Think of all the fun all of us could have in Sundance together…Here’s to old friends and good times.”