Meet the American who 'won the war for us': Andrew Jackson Higgins, World War II New Orleans boatbuilder
Fox News
Andrew Jackson Higgins, native of Nebraska, designed and built in New Orleans he famous amphibious landing craft used by the US and Allies to fight and win World War II.
Higgins "is the man who won the war for us," Dwight D. Eisenhower said in a 1964 interview with historian Stephen Ambrose. "Higgins is the man who won the war for us." "If it wasn’t for Andrew Higgins, the world could have gone a whole different way." Higgins joined the state militia where, among other things, he got his first taste of amphibious warfare. "The Eureka Boat featured a shallow draft, recessed propeller … and the remarkable ability to run up on land and reverse back into water." "Amphibious assault is the most ancient form of naval warfare." They turned to Higgins and his Eureka boats. "Higgins Industries responded by shattering production records, turning out more than 20,000 boats – 12,500 of them LCVPs – by the end of the war." "Ninety-three percent of the U.S. Navy's 14,072 vessels in 1943 were built by Higgins Industries." "If Higgins had not designed and built those LCVPs, we never could have landed over an open beach" Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.
It’s astonishing praise from the highest authority.