| Original caption: “Invasion Supplies — Everything But The Kitchen Sink – Invasion of Cape Gloucester, New Britain. Crammed with men and material for the invasion, this Coast Guard-manned LST nears the Japanese held shore. Troops shown in the picture are Marines.” Troops shown in the picture are leathernecks from the First Marine Division. On December 26, 1943, two days later, the First Marine Division landed on Cape Gloucester, New Britain using Coast Guard-manned LSTs 18, 22, 66, 67, 68, 168, 202, 204, and 206, and many other United States Navy ships. USS LST-22 shot down a Japanese “Val“ dive bomber while USS LST-66 was officially credited with downing three enemy aircraft. Two of her crew were killed by near misses. USS LST-67 brought down one Japanese dive bomber while USS LST-204 shot down two and the gunners aboard USS LST-68 claimed another. USS LST-202 claimed three enemy planes shot down. Seventy-six LSTs were crewed by the Coast Guard during World War II. United States Coast Guard Photographer’s Mate First Class Don C. Hansen (November 14, 1916 – November 25, 1979) of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. In 1945, Hansen was fourth on the list of best Coast Guard photographers in the annual “United States at War.” He was attached to the icebreaker USCGC Westwind WAG-281) from January 1945 until she was sent to the Soviet Union in circa February-November 1945. A photographer before the war, he worked for the Red Cross after the war and opened a commercial studio in Pawhuska in May 1946. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1031.jpg |
| Image Size | 2.24 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 2303 x 2904 |
| Photographer | Don C. Hansen |
| Photographer Title | United States Coast Guard |
| Caption Author | Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 24, 1943 |
| Location | Coast Guard LST |
| City | Cape Gloucester |
| State or Province | New Britain |
| Country | Solomon Islands |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-26-G-3056 |
| Status | Caption ©2007, ©2025 MFA Productions LLC Image in the Public Domain |
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