On 9 September, Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt's Western Naval Task Force began landing Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark's Allied 5th Army on the shores of the Gulf of Salerno. At 0855, LST-389 received orders to proceed to beach "Blue" near Agripoli. After minesweepers had cleared a path, exploding three mines in the process, LST-389 started in. As the ship moved shoreward, shells exploded in the water and on the beach from enemy guns, which earlier that morning had driven off six tank-laden LCT's. The ship ground onto the strand at 1241, but soon received orders to move to the more tenable "Red" beach. Heavy German artillery and machine gun fire continued to pound and sweep "Blue" beach so severely that it was dubbed one of the two invasion points "most difficult for the invaders to negotiate." Under heavy fire, LST 389 attempted to comply with the orders but could not. Stuck fast to "Blue" beach, the gallant tank landing ship then proceeded to carry out her original orders. Her crew deployed the pontoon unit; and, a little over an hour later at 1354, the first tank roared out of the ship's gaping bow doors. By the time she finally managed to clear the beach at 1509, LST-389 had endured much at the hands of German gunners. Some 60 shells had been fired at the ship. At 1313, a shell demolished the captain's cabin while wounding a number of men. Fire sweeping the exposed bridge prompted its abandonment, but two volunteers remained to maintain uninterrupted telephone contact with all stations on board. The crew of her lone gun claimed to have silenced two or three of the deadly German 88-millimeter guns.