Ernie Andrus, WWII Vet

93 years old, Coast to Coast

www.Coast2CoastRuns.com

WAYCROSS

magazine

My name is Ernie Andrus, and I have recently run coast to

coast. I turned 93 in August 2016. I started by touching the Pa-
cific Ocean near San Diego, CA on October 7th, 2013 and I have
touched the Atlantic Ocean near Brunswick, GA. 

This feat was undertaken to raise money for the LST 325

SHIP MEMORIAL, INC. 

I was one of the crews that brought the LST 325 back from the

Isle of Crete, Greece to the US in 2000-01; aired on The History
Channel and YouTube in 2001 as The Return of LST 325". One
thousand fifty-one LSTs were built during World War II. The 325
is the only one left that has been restored and still operational. I
hope to raise enough money to return the ship to Normandy for
the 2019 D-Day memorial service (its 75th Anniversary), and
beach it at the same location where it was on D-Day. The cost of
taking this ship across the Atlantic and back is tremendous.
Shortage of finances forced a 2014 trip to be canceled. 

The goal is to raise enough money for D-Day plus 75 years in

2019 and return her back home to the US. Learn more about the
USS LST 325 Memorial here: www.L.ST-Memorial.orq. I ran
three days a week averaging from a half to full marathon every
week. (A marathon is 26.2 miles.)

I warmly invited people to join me on any leg of my journey:

running, walking or driving a shuttle. News representatives
were..."Welcome!" My web address is

www.Coast2CoastRuns.com

. Drawing a line from San Diego, CA

to Brunswick, GA will give a general idea of the course I ran. Find
"Ernest Andrus" and "Coast2CoastRuns" on Facebook.

Donations made to "U55 LST Ship Memorial" are tax de-

ductible. Make checks payable to "USS LST Ship Memorial." Do-
nations can be made with checks payable to "Coast to Coast
Runs." Checks can be mailed to Ernie Andrus - 304 Brooklawn
Dr., Banning, CA 92220.

http://www.agypsygene.com/running-the-distance-with-ernie-an-
drus/

In left photo Ernie is shown with his friend Renee Krajcar at Laura
S. Walker State Park. Renee is from Syracuse, NY. Above, Ernie
is with his daughter Cathy Ratledge in front of their camper. They
enjoyed their time in Ware County.

Mission Accomplished! I reached the Atlantic August 20th, 2016 on

Saint Simons Island, GA. Fanfare was enormous. Family and friends from
all across the country were there to the finish. I don't have an accurate
count. It looks like runners and greeters combined must have been more
than a thousand. A whole string of escorts. A band is playing. A fly over. A
three-year-old girl ran all the way. She holds the record for the youngest
runner. 

Here are the final results. 2631.08 total miles in 999 hours, 32 minutes

and 15 seconds. Averages: pace 22:47, leg 6.13, miles per week 18.4  

Editor Notes:It took three years for Ernie Andrus to run 3,000 miles

from California to Georgia. His mission was to raise awareness about the
Landing Ship Tank, what he says is the unsung hero of World War II. "This
should not be forgotten," explained Ernie."