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Landing Craft Infantry Large played an extremely important mission during WWII. If I am not mistaken 28 of these vessels were Coast Guard manned. Their general characteristics are: Length: 158' 6" oa Beam: 23' 3" Draft: 2' 8" (forward), 5' 3" (aft -- beaching condition) Displacement: 216 tons (light); 234 tons (beaching condition); 389 tons (full load) Propulsion: 8 x GM diesels; twin shafts (4 diesels per shaft); 1,600 hp; twin variable-pitch propellers Range: 4,000 @ 12 knots Top Speed: 15.5 knots Complement: 3 officers, 21 enlisted Troops: 188 Cargo capacity: 75 tons Initial armament: 4 x 20mm (single-mount): 1 forward, 1 amidships, 2 aft; 2 x .50 caliber; 2" plastic splinter armor on gun shields, conning tower, and pilot house. ____________________________________________________________ U.S. ARMY photo Troops boarding LCIs at Bizerte, Tunisia, for the invasion of Sicily. All part of flotilla 4 and 10. ______________________________________________________________ USCG photo LCI(L)-87 c 1944/45 ______________________________________________________________ Sean M. Connor collection Coast Guard Commander W.H. "Jack" Dempsey while in Europe inspected the Coast Guard-manned LCI(L)-68. Sean Connor's Grandfather, Machine Mate 2nd Class Fred Ahearn is second to the left of Commander Dempsey. ______________________________________________________________ Sean M. Connor collection Contributors Grandfather, MM2 Fred Ahern with buddies aboard LCI68. Coast Guard caption dated Nov 7, 1944 reads: BATTLE-SCARRED LCIS BRING HOME COAST GUARD INVASION VETERANS FROM EUROPE Plainly happy to "hit the beaches" of America, after fighting on the beachheads of Sicily, Italy and Normandy, these three-invasion Coast Guardsmen arrived at an undisclosed East Coast port after an apochal roundtrip voyage over the stormy Atlantic. They went out and returned aboard Coast Guard-manned LCI(L)s. Seated, left to right: Coast Guardsman Murray Hollins, of AUGUSTA, ME.; Max Ashinofsky, of NEW YORK CITY; William Lynch of BROOKLYN, N.Y.; Fred Ahern, of SOUTH BOSTON, MASS.; standing, left to right: Rudolph Kramer, of NEW YORK, CITY; Walter Jackson of OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.; Leslie Blakeney, of DECATUR, ILL.; Thomas Prestridge, of SHREVEPORT, LA. and Ray Maleski, of YONKERS, N.Y. _____________________________________________________________ Sean M. Connor collection MM2 Fred Ahern USCG(right) with shipmate aboard LSI(L)-68 ______________________________________________________________