"LCI(L), A SHIP WITH GUTS, CROSSES THE ATLANTIC: Bulling its way through a heavy sea, this Coast Guard-manned LCI(L) is one of 20 in a Coast Guard flotilla which recently came home from three European invasions. These 155-footers landed American fighters on the beaches of Sicily, Salerno, and Normandy. Four of the original 24 were knocked out by Nazi fire in the D-Day landings, and the days following. The others proudly carry the shell and mortar fire scars of battle. Two years ago, the Coast Guard flotilla put out from a Texas port to cross the Atlantic, a voyage unprecedented for vessels of this size and type. They made it, fought at the three vital beachheads and came back, still manned by about 80 per cent of the original Coast Guard crews."; no date; Photo No. 3515; photo by James Watson.