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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LCI(L)-321


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Oscar - Echo
 NJOE
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - 6 June 1944, Normandy)
Second Row - Coast Guard Unit Commendation - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (4)
Third Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

USS LCI(L)-321 was manned by the US Coast Guard
LCI-1 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large):
  • Laid down, 26 November 1942, at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched, 21 January 1943
  • Commissioned USS LCI(L)-321, 6 February 1943, LTjg G.P. Hammond, USCG in command
  • Succeeding Commanding Officers
    LTjg. J.E. Hollis, Jr., USCGR -14 February 1943 - 11 September 1944
    LTjg. D.H. Davis, USCGR - 11 September - 22 November 1944
    LTjg. W.W. Allen, USCGR - 22 November 1944 - 2 December 1944
    LTjg. W.P. Swift, USCGR - 2 December 1944 - 1 January 1946
    LTjg. J.J. Owens, USCGR - 1 January 1946 - 17 March 1946
    BOSN G.G. Neal USCG - 17 March 1946 - 2 April 1946
  • USS LCI(L)-321 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater, LCI Flotilla 4, Capt. M. E. Imlay, USCG in command, (Flotilla 10 at Normandy) and participated in the following campaigns:
    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    North African occupation:
    Tunisian operation, 1 June to 9 July 1943     		Salerno landings, 9 to 21 September 1943
    October 1943 to June 1944 training in England in preparation for the Invasion of Normandy
    Sicilian occupation, 9 to 15 July 1943 Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 17 June 1944

  • USS LCI(L)-321 off loaded her troops into LCMs off Green Beach, Utah Beach on 6 June 1944 and after debarking her troops performed various tasks until 17 June 1944 when she retired to Weymouth, England. LCI(L)-321 crossed the channel seven more times carrying troops to Normandy until departing England 5 October 1944 for Charleston S.C. for repairs and overhaul.
  • USS LCI(L)-321 was reassigned to the Asiatic Pacific Theater, LCI Flotilla 35
  • Departed San Diego, 20 April 1945, for Guam, and Eniwetok. Here she engage in ditching drills with US Army Air Force 315 Bomb Wing and made runs to Saipan, and Iwo Jima collecting personnel for transportation home. Departing Guam in early December 1945 for Galveston, TX.
  • Decommissioned, 2 April 1946, at Galveston, TX.
  • Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 9 October 1947, for disposal
  • USS LCI(L)-321 earned four battle stars for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 216 t.(light), 234 t.(landing), 389 t.(loaded)
    Length 158' 5½"
    Beam 23' 3"
    Draft Light, 3'1½" mean, Landing, 2' 8" forward, 4' 10" aft, Loaded, 5' 4" forward, 5' 11" aft
    Speed 16 kts (max.), 14 kts maximum continuous
    Complement 3 officer, 21 enlisted
    Troop Capacity 6 Officers, 182 Enlisted
    Cargo Capacity 75 tons
    Armor 2" plastic splinter protection on gun turrets, conning tower and pilot house
    Endurance 4,000 miles at 12 kts, loaded, 500 miles at 15 knots; and 110 tons of fuel
    Armament four single 20mm guns one forward, one amidship, two aft, later added two .50 cal machine guns
    Fuel Capacity 130 tons, lube oil 200 gal.
    Propulsion two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, BHP 1,600, twin variable pitch propellers
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    LCI(L)-14 65k USS LCI(L)-321 along with the rest of LCI Flotillas Two and LCI Flotilla Four ready to sail to North Africa with the Third Infantry Division. Bill Brinkley
    LCI(L)-321 94k USS LCI(L)-321 underway, date and location unknown..
    Photo from the collections of the US Coast Guard.    		 US Coast Guard Historian's Office
    LCI(L)-321 305k USS LCI(L)-321 at the Normandy beachhead, D-Day, 6 June 1944. LCVPs are from USS LST-284. Jerry Gilmartin MMC(SW) USN Ret. Secretary AFMM LCI 713, Curator PT-658 Save the PT Boat Inc, courtesy Dennis Blocker LCI National Association Historian
    LCI(L)-87 91k Alex Bosmony on the beach at Guam in May 1945 with USS LCI(L)-321, USS LCI(L)-87 and an unidentified LCI in the background.
    Photo is from the USS LCI National Association's newsletter "The Elsie Item", March 2002, photo courtesy of Alex Bosmony USS LCI(L)-87.     		Ardie Hunt
    The history for USS LCI(L)-321 is from "The Coast Guard At War, Transports and Escorts, Volume II"
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association
    U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office - USS LCI(L)-321
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 7 August 2009