The First Division Museum’s LCVP likely was present in Europe during the Normandy campaign. The boat’s post WWII history is not well known; it was found in Northern France working in the fishing industry. It was being converted into a barge when it was sold to a museum near Omaha Beach. Next, a private collector purchased it, determined to bring it back to the U.S.A. for public display. The First Division Museum purchased the LCVP and shipped it to the North Carolina Maritime Museum where it underwent a seven month restoration. Though its serial number was lost while being used as a barge, staff from both museums used maritime historians and period drawings to determine it was built in 1943.

With its original markings unknown, the First Division Museum designated the boat PA45-18 to represent an LCVP from the U.S.S. Henrico, which landed soldiers from G Company, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, in the first wave of the assault on Omaha Beach. Nearly 1,100 LCVPs were used during the Normandy invasion, with over fifty destroyed on or near Omaha Beach.

Following its extensive restoration, the boat arrived at the First Division Museum on April 1, 2009. Of the more than 22,000 LCVPs manufactured during WWII, fewer than a dozen are known to exist today.

Above: The First Division Museum's LCVP during restoration and shipment to Cantigny.