Coast Guardsman Robert Goldman and the Kamikaze Attack on LST-66 by William H . Thiesen, PhD Atlantic Area Historian, United States Coast Guard
I was a passenger naval officer aboard the ship at the time ofthe attack and was in a good position to observe the courage displayed by the pharmacist's mate Goldman. His back was badly burned and he refused to even sit down until every one of the other casualties had been treated.... In my opinion such courage was far beyond the call ofduty. -Lieutenant junior grade Collum J. deGruy, USNR uring World War II, the US Coast Guard played a critical role on the high seas. More than half of its personnel served at sea aboard 802 Coast Guard, 351 US Navy, and 288 US Army vessels that supported land, sea and air forces in all combat theaters . Coast Guard troop ships, attack transports, cargo vessels, fuel ships and auxiliary vessels provided for Allied amphibious operations, fighting fleets and land forces across the world. These ships ensured a steady stream of troops, equipment, and supplies to Allied offensives against enemy forces. One of the countless Coast Guardsmen who served in this armada of military vessels was pharmacist's mate Robert Goldman. Born and raised in Connecticut, Goldman earned a degree in agriculture from the University of Connecticut, and then taught at the National Farm School in Pennsylvania. In October 1942, he enlisted in the Coast Guard and chose to become a pharmacist's mate, with duties similar to those of a medic or corpsman. Over the next year, he received medical
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Early photo ofRobert Goldman in his Coast Guard uniform. training at Columbia University's Pharmacy School, got married and served as a third-class pharmacist's mate in the Coast Guard's New York District. In June of 1944, the 24-year-old Coast Guardsman
LST-66 (ship on the right) unloading tanks in July 1944, months before the epic battle ofLeyte Gulf Philippines. 32
left behind his bride ofless than a year and traveled cross-country to the USCG West Coast processing center at Alameda, California. Within a month, he was underway on a voyage that would lead to the killing fields of the Western Pacific. In July 1944, Goldman reported for duty aboard LST-66, built for the US Navy but manned by US Coast Guard personnel. At 328 feet in length, the LST (short for "landing ship, tank") was a product of British and American engineering genius, built to alleviate the Allies' desperate need for amphibious ships in the European and Pacific theaters. The largest of the Allies' purpose-built landing ships, the LST carried 2 ,100 tons of troops, tanks, trucks , supplies, and ammunition. Along with 110 Coast Guard officers and enlisted men as his shipmates, Goldman would now call LST-66his home. When Goldman arrived on board LST-66, she was busy landing troops and supplies for the Army's campaign in Western New Guinea. That autumn, the Allies launched one of the most strategically important amphibious operations of the
LST-66 (second from left) and other LSTs debarking troops and supplies on the shallow beaches ofLeyte Gulf the Philippines.
SEA HISTORY J60, AUTUMN 2017