Broccardo Ships

LST's

The following is an article written by Cheryl Dagon, Breeze-Courier: writer

KINCAID - World War II veteran Seaman 1/C Louis Broccardo served with the Amphibious Forces, United States Navy, from 1944 through 1946. First assigned to Landing Ship Tank (LST) 1067, he was later assigned to LST 683,which transported American troops, tanks, and vehicles to drop off points.
The enormous transport carried smaller boats, called LCVP‘s. he and the crew transported 15 to 30 personnel, with there equipment and armor from the LST to beachheads in LCVP’s. Broccardo helped land reconstruction troops on Hiroshima, 85 days after the atomic bomb was dropped there.
As the years passed, Broccardo found that there was little information on the role of the LST in museums or magazines. Even the Smithsonian Institute had no LST display. “The job was very dangerous”, Broccardo said, “and we have become like a lost crew.”
He had talked for many years of creating a patch or a decal commemorating the LST, finally seeking out local artist Mark Herman.
Herman said Broccardo asked him to create a sticker for WWII LST veterans. Broccardo brought a photo of an LST and asked that the sticker include the patch designed for Navy amphibious crews. Herman placed the Naval patch, which includes an eagle, machine gun, and anchor, atop the LST. The rest of the design was left up to Herman.
Broccardo also suggested Herman use the slogan, “When freedom calls, we answer ‘ready’ “ However, limited by space, only the first three words were used.
Broccardo’s granddaughter, Tiffany Torricelli, added colors. The decal will have blue and gold for the amphibious patch, skies of red and white, and an ocean of blue butting up to the sandy beach where the gray LST has landed.
Broccardo is proud of the final design, saying that now a dream he had kept alive for almost 60 plans is finally on paper and ready to be reproduced and distributed. He plans to have decals, to be placed inside the window of a vehicle, made.
Herman presented the sketch to Broccardo as a tribute to a WWII veteran. “It’s my gift to him.” Herman said “for what he did for us.”

The following numbers are now available; 382-388-392-398-683-932-1067, with more to come. If interested in decal, please contact;
Louis Broccardo
PO. Box 808
Kincaid, Illinois 62540. Tel:217-237-5592

Please send:
Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip code:
Number of decals wanted:

These decals to be placed outside the window of a vehicle, bumpers, trucks, tractors & motorcycles.

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