Members of the U.S.S. Lowndes Reunion are all veterans of this World War II ship that was commissioned in 1944 and decommissioned on April 17, 1946. The Lowndes was a 11,180-ton ship with a crew of 56 officers and 480 enlisted men and carried as many as 1,500 troops and equipment to and from staging areas in the Pacific. Amphibious training was taken in the Hawaiian Islands in preparation for the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In February, 1945, the U.S.S. Lowndes participated for eight days in the massive assault on Iwo Jima while the ship's beach party went ashore four days to attend and evacuate casualties to salvage boats and to clear beaches for the landing craft. The Lowndes received and treated 365 wounded from the Iwo beach. The 43-member beach party had 16 casualties at Iwo, including 4 killed and 12 wounded. Eight landing boats from the Lowndes were lost during the Iwo Jima battle. In April, 1945, the Lowndes was engaged in the invasion of Okinawa. The ship suffered no damage but was under constant enemy air raids while debarking troops and unloading cargo in support of the campaign ashore. The Lowndes received two battle stars. Following D-Day and victory in World War II, the ship carried troops and cargo to Japan, the Philippines and other areas for occupation duty and returned homeward bound veterans to the United States.

Please select one the underlined links below to continue your voyage:

This Site is dedicated to the Lowndes' members
that have moved on. Especially the
ones lost February 20, 1945 on Iwo Jima
Click here to see their memorial page


Narrative History of The U.S.S. Lowndes

The USS Lowndes' Route (Animated Map)

Personal Accounts and Logs

The Complete Lowndes Deck Log

Marines on the Lowndes
The Flag of The USA and The World's Symbol of Freedom The Flag of The USA and The World's Symbol of Freedom

Pictures from the War

Video and Audio from the War


Pictures from Reunions

Video from Reunions

Past Reunion Information

2008 Reunion Information

The U.S.S. Lowndes Newsletters

Blueprints/Models of The Lowndes

APA Historical Preservation Project - Save the Gage (APA-168)

The APA Film Project (The Bayfield Archives)

Books & Movies (WWII Attack Transports)

Lowndes Games (Hangman + Trivia)

Preview of the 2004 Lowndes WWII History Calendar (Requires Adobe Acrobat)

Links to other Attack Transport Sites

Search the USS Lowndes Web Site

Web Site change history listing


The U.S.S. Lowndes in Manila Bay
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal

Visitors since August 2, 2002:
20332

Click Here To Sign/View the Guestbook


For our Japanese visitors, Press the button below to translate this page with Babel.


Email Contacts:

U.S.S. Lowndes' Crewman and Reunion Contact: Bud Kautz

Pages maintained by: David Brinkman




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