Pennsylvania farmers take turns caring for WWII-era ship

BOLIVAR, Pa. (AP) — Rus Davies and Greg Clark never served in the military, but each took a turn piloting a 3,000-ton retired Navy landing vessel. For the past two years, the friends, who own Fairfield Township farms, have spent several weeks living and working with other volunteers on a restored World War II-era LST (short for Landing Ship, Tank, signifying that it could carry 20 Sherman tanks and up to 400 troops). “It was a great experience,” Clark said. “It gives you an idea of what it was like to be in the service.” Davies wanted to experience some of the conditions his father, Robert, endured while serving as a fireman on the USS Bassett, a high-speed Navy transport that rescued some survivors of the torpedoed USS Indianapolis in the Pacific Theater of World War II. “After a few days, I found out what it was like to live on a ship, and I got the bug,” Davies said. Davies and Clark signed on as volunteers after touring the LST while it was docked near Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field. Operated by a nonprofit based in Evansville, Ind., the ship visited as part of a 2015 cruise up the Ohio River. “They take it out in the...