LST 157 launching from shipyard. LST-157 was laid down on 25 June 1942 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., launched on 31 October 1942, sponsored by Mrs. DeWitt C. Redgrave, Jr., and commissioned on 10 February 1943. During World War II, LST-157 served in the European theater and participated in the following operations: Sicilian occupation July 1943, Salerno landings September 1943, and the invasion of Normandy June 1944. Upon her return to the United States, the ship was decommissioned on 9 December 1944 and transferred to the United Kingdom. She was returned to the custody of the United States Navy on 11 April 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 5 June 1946. On 5 December 1947, she was sold to Bosey, Philippines. LST-157 earned three battle stars for World War II. In 1942 some 45 acres of riverfront property (approximately where Mead Johnson is now) was made into Evansville Shipyard, with the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co. contracted to build LSTs (Landing Ship Tank). The first LST was launched even before the yard was completed. At its height, over 19,00 were employed here, and Evansville made more LSTs than any other shipyard in the country. In its only three years of operation, the Evansville Shipyard built 24 ships, 167 LSTs, and 35 other war crafts. The last ship was launched December 12, 1945; a fire swept through the plant in January 1946, and today, nothing remains of this operation.