A Dream Is Dry-Docked : Dejected Merchant Mariners Return to L.A. as D-Day Voyage Is Scrapped

A restored World War II cargo ship and its crew of gray-haired former merchant marine seamen made a somber return to Los Angeles Harbor on Sunday, a week after their planned 9,000-mile voyage to France was scrapped because of engine trouble.

It was not the triumphant return many expected when the Lane Victory and its crew--almost all of them in their 60s and 70s--steamed out of Los Angeles Harbor on April 29 bound for celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the D-day landing on the Normandy coast of France.

As hundreds of friends and family members gathered under cloudy skies at Berth 53 in San Pedro to welcome the returning merchant marines, many of the Lane Victory’s dejected crew members moped about the deck or leaned gloomily against the ship’s railings.

“I feel horrible,” said 3rd Mate Allen Thronson, 71, who hugged his daughter, Jennifer Underwood, after she marched up the ship’s gangway to greet him Sunday morning. “That ship runs beautifully, and I don’t see why we couldn’t continue the trip.”

The Lane Victory developed engine trouble five days after leaving Los Angeles and limped into port in Acapulco, Mexico, on May 4. Several days later, the board of directors of the U.S. Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II, which owns the 455-foot ship, voted 4-1 to scuttle the trip and order the crew to return home to San Pedro. The ship returned under its own power.

Delays caused by mechanical problems would have made it nearly impossible for the crew to arrive in France in time for the June 6 ceremonies, said Joe Vernick, president of the veterans group. Also, the ship needed a custom-made part for the evaporator that converts salt water into fresh water, said chief engineer Pete Jacobelly, who flew back to Los Angeles from Acapulco.

“Prudence demanded that it come back,” said John O. Smith, 83, a member of the merchant marine veterans board who stood at the berth to welcome the crew back to San Pedro.

But many of the ship’s volunteer crew, including Capt. Bill Tilgh m an, disagreed. Last week, 34 of the 54 crew members signed a petition stating they wanted to continue the trip. In addition, two of the veterans group’s board members who were aboard the Lane Victory said they were excluded from the vote.

“We felt let down,” said former merchant marine John Struyk, 72. He and his wife, Maryanne, both were aboard the Lane Victory when the trip was canceled.

Had all gone as planned, the Lane Victory would have steamed south through the Panama Canal to rendezvous near Bermuda with the Liberty ship Jeremiah O’Brien out of San Francisco. The Coast Guard required that the Lane Victory cross the Atlantic with another ship.

But oil leaked into one of the Lane Victory’s two boilers as the ship neared Acapulco, and the trip was delayed. Although the leak was repaired at sea, the boiler needed to be cleaned with chemicals that were available only in port. By the time the work was completed, the rendezvous with the Jeremiah O’Brien would have been impossible.

As late as Tuesday, crew members were hoping that the Lane Victory could be escorted across the Atlantic by one of 14 Navy ships expected to make the voyage, said Clint Johnson, a member of the merchant marine veterans board. But those hopes were dashed when the Lane Victory--following the board’s orders--left port in Acapulco on Wednesday to steam back to Los Angeles.

“We’re glad they’ve returned,” said Tina Richardson, 27, of Buena Park, who worried about the safety of her grandfather, Lee Chamberlain, and the rest of the ship’s crew.

*

Although the trip to France has been scrapped, the merchant marines might yet make a voyage to celebrate the D-day anniversary. The ship has been invited to take part in a re-enactment of the Normandy invasion on the beaches of Santa Monica on June 1 with three other ships.

The ship will see other action, as well. The Lane Victory will be transformed into a Hollywood movie set for three days of filming later this month, said Smith.

The new plans are small solace for the grizzled merchant mariners who began dreaming of making the voyage to Normandy back in 1992 after they restored the Lane Victory, and it took about 700 passengers on a daylong cruise to Santa Catalina Island.

All told, the ship’s crew members needed more than $1 million in fuel, equipment, supplies and cash to make the Normandy trip. After numerous delays, a $250,000 contribution by the Norris Foundation of Long Beach put the crew over the top.