Aged Ship Crew Accomplishes Goal

Tuesday, January 16th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

AKRON, N.Y. (AP) â€” When they weren't repairing engines or dodging bad weather, Lauren Whiting and his crewmates aboard a decrepit World War II landing craft found a few minutes to sit in the sun and shoot the breeze.

``We used to joke,'' Whiting said Monday, ``when else can you go on a four-month cruise for $2,000?''

After returning home from a cross-Atlantic journey, Whiting, 76, was back in suit and tie behind his desk at Whiting Roll Up Door. He was 40 pounds lighter, and had the tale of a lifetime to tell.

Whiting was among 29 veterans â€” average age 72 â€” who brought the landing ship tank 4,350 miles from Greece to Mobile, Ala., where it is to become a floating museum.

Each crew member paid their way to Greece and kicked in $2,000 to cover expenses of the crossing, which the Coast Guard had warned was too dangerous to make.

``This wasn't a lark,'' Whiting said, his desk festooned with welcome-back cards, balloons and a box of chocolates.

The 328-foot ship had delivered troops to Normandy during the D-Day invasion in 1944. It was lent to the Greek government 20 years later and taken out of service last summer.

The years have not been kind to the LST.

``The ship was a derelict. Nothing worked,'' Whiting said.

There was hot water for showers, but nothing else, and for a while cockroaches outnumbered crew members. But Whiting stressed that the ship was structurally sound.

During the voyage that ended last week, Whiting was responsible for keeping the old vessel's engines running.

``The most difficult part of it was the tension of trying to get her back to Mobile on time because there were lots of things planned for our reception,'' Whiting said. ``And of course, everybody was anxious to get home and you're relying on these two old engines.''

The Coast Guard had advised against an ocean crossing during the stormy winter months, citing the ship's lack of safety equipment and shaky steering.

But Whiting and the other veterans would hear none of it.

``When I was overseas, we went through cyclones and hurricanes,'' said Whiting, a former chief petty officer who saw action in seven invasions of Japanese-held islands in the Pacific.

This time around, he said, ``we didn't have anyone fall or get hurt or anything. These guys were sailors.''

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On the Net:

LST Association: http://www.uslst.org

Crew log: http://www.palosverdes.com/lst887/lst325.html