USS Missouri

Description

A short history and many stories from veterans (including photos).

Sujets

• Military Science
• Sciences et techniques
• Armada de los Estados Unidos
• Iowa class battleship
• USS Missouri
• Technology
• Okinawa Prefecture
• Engineering
• USS Missouri (BB-63)
• Okinawa
• United States Navy
• Iwo Jima

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 juin 1998
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781681624532
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

USS M ISSOURI
(BB-63)

The Mighty Mo
T URNER P UBLISHING C OMPANY
TURNER PUBLISHING COMPANY
Copyright 1998 Publishing Rights: Turner Publishing Company This book or any part thereof may not be reproducd without wriuen aonsent of the publisher
Tuner Publishing Company Staft: Project Coordinator: John Mark Jackson Designer: Shelley R. Davidson
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 98-86842 ISBN: 978-1-56311-453-3
Printed in the United States of America. Additional copies may be purchased diecily from the Publisher. Limited Edition.
T ABLE OF C ONTENTS
Association President s Message
Publisher s Message
History
Special Stories
Veterans
Biographies
Roster
Index
A SSOCIATION P RESIDENT S M ESSAGE

Dear Shipmates,
At the time of this history book s printing, the USS Missouri has made History once again. On June 22, 1998, our ship found her final resting place in the waters of Pearl Harbor. She will be there for eternity, and forever remind the world of the Alpha and Omega of the World War in the Pacific. The beginning, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese and memorialized by the USS Arizona. The end, with the signing of the Japanese surrender aboard the Mighty Mo and her final resting place in Pearl Harbor near the Arizona.
The stories, photos, and comments in the enclosed pages are but a few of the many that abound. We are sorry that many of our shipmates could not contribute, having gone on tho the kingdom of the deep. We have included all the names of known crew of Missouri, alive and departed. Those of us who carry on the spirit and camaraderie of Missouri, will endeavor to make sure future generation and historians are aware of our ship s contribution to world peace.
Among our membership, we have men who served in the Navy on December 7, 1941, in Pearl Harbor, men who served in the Navy on D-Day on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, men who were at the commissioning of the ship in the Brooklyn Navy Yard on June 11, 1944. We have men who saw the ship commissioned and decommissioned twice. There are those who were aboard on September 2, 1945, to witness the signing of the surrender of Japan on her 01 deck, bringing to a close World War II. And then we have men who were aboard when the Mighty Mo again went in harms way to Korea in two cruises, and to the Persian Gulf, where she fought her last battle.
The U.S.S. Missouri (BB-63) is the last battleship. The men of Missouri are the last of a breed of sailor, that served our country since the war of the Revolution, the end of an era, that of the Battleship Sailor.
Thank you for the honor of being your President and being a part of this moment in history.
Here s to fair winds, following seas and keeping a straight wake.

Herbert Herb Fahr, Jr.
President 1997-1998
U.S.S. Missouri (BB-63) Association, Inc.
USS M ISSOURI H ISTORY

USS Missouri (BB-63) History
The following are significant events in USS Missouri s history.
6 January 1941: Keel laid at New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, NY.
29 January 1944: Launched under sponsorship of Miss Margaret Truman
11 June 1944: Commissioned at New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, NY.
14 December 1944: Departed San Francisco for entry into World War II War Zone in the Pacific.
15 February 1945: Participated in raids against Iwo Jima.
10 March 1945: Participated in raids against Okinawa.
29 August 1945: Arrived Tokyo Bay.
2 September 1945: Instrument of Formal Surrender signed aboard USS Missouri , Tokyo Bay, Japan.
27 October 1945: President Harry S. Truman visits USS Missouri in New York Harbor on Navy Day.
5 April 1946: Port visit to Istanbul, Turkey, to deliver remains of Turkish Ambassador who died in Washington, DC during the war.
30 August 1947: Presidential cruise to Rio de Janeiro; President Truman, Mrs. Truman and Miss Margaret Truman embarked.
19 August 1950: Departed Norfolk, Virginia en route to Korean Theater.
11 September 1952: Departed for second deployment to Korean Theater.
26 February 1955: Decommissioned; entered reserve fleet, Bremerton, Washington.
14 May 1984: Under tow from Bremerton, Washington, en route to Long Beach Naval Shipyard.
10 May 1986: Decommissioned by Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger, San Francisco, California.
During 1986 through 1989, USS Missouri participated in an around the world cruise, the first battleship to circumnavigate the world since President Theodore Roosevelt s Great White Fleet. Missouri journeyed to the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormiz for supporting operations, participated in the Rim of the Pacific exercises and visited Pusan, Korea.
In September 1990, USS Missouri deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Desert Shield. On the first day of Desert Storm, she fired her 16 guns for the first time in anger for over 35 years.

Ceremony at the debarkation of the body of the Turkish ambassador .

Postage stamp issued by Turkey to commerate the returning of the Turkish Ambassador s body by the USS Missouri .
In November 1993, USS Missouri departed Long Beach for Pearl Harbor, where she was the host ship for the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. She returned to Long Beach on her final cruise to be decommissioned on 31 March 1992.
The USS Missouri (BB-63) now rests in the Bremerton Naval Shipyard as part of the Reserve Fleet. Upon call, Missouri will still be a powerful and fearful dreadnought in the best tradition of the US Navy.
5 January 1995 - The USS Missouri and her sister ships, Wisconsin, Iowa and New Jersey , are stricken from the Naval Register by John Dalton, Secretary of the Navy.
2 September 1995: History is repeated as the Mighty Mo is honored by the USS Missouri Association (BB-63), Inc. with over 600 members of the original crew holding a Memorial Service on her fantail. The original ship s Band led by Chief Tom Hill, play the themes for the service. Guest speakers include Captain Joe Taussig who guided the USS Nevada out of harms way at the Pearl Harbor attack, General Richard Hearney, USMC, Horace Dicks, and Barbara London, woman pilot of WWII. Also speaking were the association officers, Vice President Herbert Fahr Jr. and Reunion Chairman Jack Hynes. Almost 8,000 visitors witnessed the historic dockside event in Bremerton, Washington.
21 August 1996: Battleship Missouri to be donated to Memorial Association in Hawaii. After a lengthy debate by San Francisco, Bremerton, Long Beach and Honolulu, the Mighty Mo will be going to Hawaii where she will become a memorial alongside the USS Arizona memorial, and become where WWII started with the Pearl Harbor attack and where WWII ended, on the decks of the USS Missouri
The ship departed Bremerton, WA under tow, for her last sea journey on May 23, 1998. She stopped in Astoria, Oregon in the Columbia River to have her bottom washed by the fresh water of the river. On June 3, the Crowley Sea Victory tugboat with a crew of seven, pulled the ship away and towed Missouri 2,368 miles to Honolulu, arriving on June 21 and docking on June 22. Upon arrival, the ship was handled by volunteers who immediately started a cleanup and painting project to prepare the ship for an exceptional 53rd surrender anniversary ceremony to be held on September 2. The ship is temporarily berthed on pier Foxtrot 5 on Ford Island. The USS Missouri (BB-63) Association, Inc. will hold their 1998 reunion in Hawaii with the ABA. The September 2nd ceremony will include many original crew members, plank owners, and witnesses to the surrender signing. The USS Missouri Memorial Association will open the ship to the general public as a Memorial and Museum in January, 1999.

The following are the battle ribbons won by the USS Missouri :
Combat Action Ribbon - For active participation in ground or surface combat subsequent to 1 March 1961, while captain, colonel or junior.
Navy Unit Commendation - For outstanding heroism in action or extreme meritorious service not involving combat but in support.
Meritorious Unit Commendation - For valorous or meritorious achievement or service that renders the unit outstanding compared to other units.
Navy E Ribbon - To denote permanent duty on ships that won battle efficiency subsequent to 1 July 1974.
China Service Medal - For dates served in China, 7 July 1937 to 7 September 1939 and 2 September 1945 to 1 April 1957.
American Campaign Medal - WWII.
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - WWII.
Victory Medal - WWII.
Navy Occupation Service Medal - During and after WWII to 4 June 1954.
National Defense Service Medal - For service 27 June 1950 to 27 July 1954; 1 January 1961 to 14 August 1974, to present.
Korean Service Medal - For service 27 June 1950 to 27 July 1954.
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal - For designated operations after 1 January 1958.
Southwest Asia Medal - Gulf dates of 2 August 1990 to end.
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon - To recognize the unique and demanding nature of sea service and the arduous duty attendant with deployment subsequent to 15 August 1974.
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation - Service in Korea from 27 June 1950 to 27 July 1953.
United Nations Service Medal - Service in Korean area in support of the UN action from 27 June 1950 to 27 July 1954.
Liberation of Kuwait Medal - Gulf action dates from 3 August 1990 to end.
Compiled and edited by Herbert Fahr Jr., President of the USS Missouri (BB-63) Association, Inc. 1997-1998.
The USS Missouri (BB-63) Association, Inc. was formed in 1974 and is made up of all former sailors and marines who served aboard her as ship s company. Also invited are all flag members as well as visiting dignitaries. The Association holds an annual reunion on the Labor Day weekend every year to commemorate the 2 September 1945 date. There are also four planning meetings during the year in various locations. Former shipmates are invited to join. For an application, call or write or e-mail. Herb Fahr, 24 Clark Street, Plain