Our tour of the LCI-LSM was excellent! We got to explore the whole ship and learned so much. The volunteers were incredibly kind and checked with us multiple times to make sure we wanted to hear more. We were fascinated to learn about how the vessel functioned, life aboard, history of the crew, and how they have restored and maintained everything. There are many displays throughout the ship on a variety of topics including African American service men. They have uniforms and impressive flags with equally impressive histories. If you're interested in WWII, you'll love how much the vollunteers know and how interested they are in learning. If you don't have an interest in WWII, military history, or ships, trust me, you'll still have fun climbing around the ship and learning. If there is any interest you have specifically, there will be something interesting... cooking, symbols, cultural history, weaponry, etc. Wear comfortable shoes and dress as if you'll be outdoors. Be aware there are ramps and ladder steps to access the ship and the different areas of the ship. There are spots to sit. All questions were welcomed! If you have items or knowledge to contribute, they welcome it!

This off the beaten path floating museum feels like an undiscovered gem in Portland. Tucked away in an industrial park is a piece of history that you and your kids can climb all over. The ship has been restored to its WWII era condition, but that doesn't mean it's hands off. Instead, my daughters and I were climbing up and down ladders, sounding alarm horns, and sitting in the captain's chair during our guided tour. The kids had fun and learned something while the grown ups had a chance to see a one-of-a-kind sight. The volunteers who run this place are passionate, knowledgeable, and friendly. They even opened it up for us outside their regular hours when we reached out to schedule a visit. If you're looking for something different and memorable, you've found it here.

This is an awesome place to visit, very underappreciated, and staffed by a great dedicated crew working to preserve an overlooked element of WWII - the Landing Craft Infantry, a 419-ton mass-produced ship intended to run aground off an enemy shore and unload 188 troops straight onto a beach. The centerpiece of the museum is LCI(L)-713, which serves as a home for the AFMM's impressive collection of historical artifacts. The tour is usually self-guided, but they will show you around if you ask. The exterior is undergoing restoration, but the interior is in great shape and has been very, very well cared for - the ship had four spaces just for troops to sleep in, and they have turned two of those spaces into display areas while using one as a workshop. The other troop space has been restored to how it would have looked when troops used it, with really cool displays of uniforms, troop gear, etc. on the bunks. The museum is usually open on Saturdays only, though groups can contact them for visiting on other days. The restoration crew also works on Saturdays, so the ship feels alive while they're working on the upper decks.Things to know for your visit, based on mine: - Admission is free, but they accept donations and will put the funds to good use. Their overall goal is to eventually re-install the ship's engines and return her to functionality for cruising the local waterways. - I contacted the museum in advance and drove down from Seattle a couple weeks later, and got a great guided tour from Jerry and Rick with my wife and a small group of other folks. - The tour took right at 3 hours, but I asked LOTS of questions so it may be faster for others. - This museum is not visible from the road. They are within Vigor Shipyard on Swan Island, and there's a phone number on the gate to call for the museum. You arrive, pull up in front of the gate, call the phone number on the gate and they send someone out to let you and your car in. You then drive a short way into the shipyard and park in a dirt lot. I've included a marked-up map screenshot in this review to show where everything is and how to get to it; basically we used the address for the Peterbilt right across from the gate, and that got us there just fine. - There is a portable toilet in the parking lot - I'd recommend using it before starting your tour. - You can leave to go get food, but you'll have to call them to let you back in to the gate when you return - our tour actually was kind enough to order us pizza, and we ate with the crew of LCI-713 aboard the ship.- Bring water! During the middle of the day, the lower compartments of the LCI can get hot.- The Amphibious Forces Memorial Museum is its own museum, but it operates hand-in-hand with Save The PT Boat, Inc., which displays PT-658 directly next door. Though each is its own non-profit, I would recommend treating both as one attraction for your visit - seeing both is just so interesting.- To access the Amphibious Forces Memorial Museum, you have to walk through PT-658's boathouse. I first found out about this ship, LCI-713, after reading about the different types of landing craft used in Normandy for D-Day. At the time, this was listed as one of two LCI museums, but the other one in Samoa, California, is not a museum anymore. LCI-713 was used for landings in Borneo and the Philippines during WWII, and is very close to her original configuration. My favorite part was the crew spaces: where they ate, where they cooked, where they lived. I also really enjoyed all the oddities that went into making the LCI work on the beach: the very shallow bow, the bow doors, the stern anchor and winch used to pull them in reverse back out to sea. Spaces on display include three of the four troop berthing compartments, the entire main deck including the galley, captain's quarters, crew's washroom, crew's berthing, mess area, officer's wardroom, radio room and sick bay, the forecastle (with troop washroom), a clipping room for the ship's 20mm guns, after steering, the magazine, and the conning tower where the ship was piloted and controlled. On the weather decks, you can visit the quarterdeck at the stern, the upper deck, the top of the conning tower, the top of the forecastle, and the well-deck - everything from stem to stern, front to back. The only spaces that are not publicly open are the workshop in one of the troop compartments, and the engine room (the ship does not currently have engines anyways - the museum has engines in storage, but they need hull repairs before they can be installed) where the generators that provide the ship's electricity are running.The thing to keep in mind is that this was a ship intended to go into harm's way for the sole purpose of landing troops - this is not a battleship, it is not packed with guns. But its role was SO important for retaking the Pacific from the Japanese - and the 900+ LCIs that were built were treated as disposable both during the war and after, leaving very few to survive. They are unsung heroes. Anyone with any interest in WWII and especially troop landings at D-Day, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, etc. should plan to see this - the staff, largely volunteers, are incredibly welcoming and clearly proud of their ship, for good reason.You just will not find anything else like this anywhere in the US. This is a real historical treasure. This thing was once just a shipwreck, and over the past 20+ years this team has restored the ship into a can't-miss museum. Highly recommended - do this along with PT-658 and you'll have done the coolest things in Portland, hands down.

If you happen to be in Portland Oregon on a Saturday and have some spare time I highly recommend visiting these hard working and dedicated folks. And I would highly recommend planning a special trip to see them if your not in the area. I happened to stumble into a visit following a tour of the PT 658, these two craft are neighbors. The LCI was a awesome follow up to the PT ride. I was not aware of its existence until today. These folks on LCI 713 are doing a fantastic job. The outside appearance is a little deceiving, the interior was very well done. Lots of really cool stuff. I think these people are getting a LOT DONE with probably very little $ and I cannot say enough good things about my experience on my visit.

This little known gem is a little hard to find but it is well worth the trip. As the only one of its kind left, and restored to nearly mint condition by a loving crew of volunteers, they take great pride in showing the ship. The USS LCI713 a combat veteran of World War 2 in the Pacific Theater, having carried troops from the US Army 41st Div onto the shores of Zamboanga, Phillipines, and Australian troops of the AUS 9th Division to the shores of Borneo at Brunei Bay. The crew has been restoring the once sunken hulk back to showroom condition since 1998. The ship is set up both on the inside and outside to her 1944 appearance. Visitors are free to roam the entire ship, and see how the WW2 sailors lived and worked. It is also the flagship of the WW2 LCI Veterans Association. Don't pass up your opportunity to see this ship while you are in town. The best day is on a Saturday, but for larger groups special arrangements can be made on any day of the week.