Sense Of Duty

PT BOATS DID MORE THAN JUST CARRY TORPEDOES AND YOUNG MEN INTO BATTLE DURING WORLD WAR II. THEY’VE FIRED THE IMAGINATIONS OF BOATERS YOUNG AND OLD FOR DECADES. JASON Y. WOOD PAID A VISIT TO THE NEWLY RESTORED PT-305 IN NEW ORLEANS TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT GOES INTO MAKING, AND REMAKING, A PT BOAT, BUT GOT A BIT MORE THAN HE BARGAINED FOR.

- Jason Y. Wood

When I stepped onto the deck of PT-305, I didn’t know where to look first. I was in the National World War II Museum’s Brand new, single-slip boathouse on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. Twenty-odd people were milling around, including uniformed crew, staff and volunteers from the museum, and journalists. There was a lot to see. I took a glance over the starboard side to watch the smoke curling from a hullside exhaust port, then stepped forward to examine the wooden wheel at the helm, then pardon-me’ed my way through the gawkers aftto the 40-millimeter Bofors gun with its wire-frame bulls-eye sights positioned in front of its two crew seats.

On the way aft, of course, I had to take a quick peek down the hatch to see the three vintage Packard M2500 V-12 engines burbling away, while PT-305’s motor macs led by volunteer Jack Wade III, all wearing period-appropriate uniforms of dungarees with blue chambray shirts and sailor caps, plus modern-day hearing protection, were watchful as they went through precruise checks of cooling water flow, and exhaust and oil pressure.

PT-305 was looking good, with a lifeboat on her foredeck, jauntily tied fast over one-half of her charthouse. She was preparing to leave her cozy berth inside the corrugated steel boathouse. PT-305 fairly gleams, all fresh paint with nary a scuff on her gray deck. And she ought to, since she’s fresh out of the box from a 10-year refit and restoration undertaken by the National World War II Museum. With a dedicated staff mobilizing a seemingly irresistible force of volunteers, the museum has advanced its mission from celebrating the accomplishments of D-Day to helping visitors remember and understand the entire war effort.