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Evansville, IN WW II Vets Swap Stories at Reunion
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By LYDIA X. MCCOY, Courier & Press staff writer, Friday, May 18, 2007
Therman Goodson will never forget May 18, 1945.
Goodson was serving aboard the USS Longshaw at Okinawa and Japanese batteries on shore were hammering the destroyer because it had run aground on an uncharted reef. He had just helped a wounded shipmate to the sick bay when an explosion sent him flying. When he regained consciousness, he was in the water.
 DENNY SIMMONS / Courier & Press
Therman Goodson said his favorite part of the USS Longshaw and USS Arikara reunion was a chance to meet old crew members.
"That's where I ended up. I didn't have a life jacket. I didn't have a helmet. I didn't have a shirt on," the 87-year-old said. "It blew everything off you that would come off."
 The ship ultimately sank.
The men who survived that day have gone their separate ways, but each year on the anniversary of the attack, they get together to reminisce and honor those who died.
This year, survivors of the ship came to Evansville for their 24th annual reunion. They were joined by survivors of the USS Arikara, which came to the aid of the Longshaw and its crew. On Thursday, 20 of about 40 survivors attending the reunion toured LST 325.
Over the years, Goodson of Hemet, Calif., lost contact with his shipmates, so this week was the first time he'd seen them in decades.
"I didn't recognize too many of them, but as soon as they started introducing me, I knew a lot of them. It's something to see, the ones that I haven't seen," he said. "I've enjoyed every inch of it. This will be about the last (reunion), so many of us are going downhill, just like me. When you get close to 100 years old, that's enough. It's mighty nice to see them. I'm glad to make this one. I probably won't be able to make another."
 DENNY SIMMONS / Courier & Press
Past crew members of the USS Longshaw (DD-559) and USS Arikara (ATF-98) get together each year for a reunion, 62 years after the Longshaw was sunk by Japanese forces while the Arikara crew attempted to free it after it ran aground on an uncharted coral reef. Jim Zikus of Peoria, Ill., left, and John Ullinskey of Westchester, Ill., reminisce about the old days as the crew members' wives visit in an adjacent room Thursday at the Executive Inn.
Goodson's daughter, Jane Moore, made the trip to Evansville with him.
"We searched for years for this and finally we got it, we found it," she said. "I'm just so glad he got here. I don't think he's going to be able to travel much longer. He's been wanting to do this for so long."
As the men toured the LST, they laughed, and shared jokes and memories. Today they will have a banquet to honor and remember those killed May 18, 1945.
Joe Schneider, 80, was one of the organizers of the reunion. He and his wife came through Evansville last year and saw the LST, and decided to hold the reunion this year in Evansville.
"We're having a great time," he said. "(The crews of the Longshaw and the Arikara) bonded together many, many, many years ago. It became one reunion."
John Ullinskey said touring LST 325 brought back many memories.
"We thank the good Lord that we're still here at this old age to celebrate together," the 83-year-old said. "This is very reminiscent and reminds you of going back and seeing these men leaving the ship. And as they're coming ashore, you see some of them never make the shore because of the enemy annihilating them. It brings back a lot of memories, back to what took place."
Jim Zikus served aboard the Arikara, and was on the bridge of the Longshaw when it was hit.
"I was sent over by our captain to set up radio communication," he said. "I served on the Longshaw for eight minutes and I got blown off."
Frank Clark said he wished he could have been one of the sailors that brought the LST back to the states.
"That would have been a high point in my life," he said.
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