| The fourth Missouri (BB-63), the last battleship completed
by the United States, was laid down 6 January 1941 by New York Naval Shipyard;
launched 29 January 1944; sponsored by Miss Margaret Truman, daughter of
then Senator from Missouri Harry S Truman, later President; and commissioned
11 June 1944, Capt. William M. Callaghan in command. |
| After trials off New York and shakedown and battle practice in
Chesapeake Bay, Missouri departed Norfolk 11 November 1944, transited
the Panama Canal 18 November and steamed to San Francisco for final fitting
out as fleet flagship. She stood out of San Francisco Bay 14 December and
arrived Ulithi, West Caroline Islands, 13 January 1945. There she was temporary
headquarters ship for Vice Adm. Mare A. Mitscher. The battleship put to sea
27 January to serve in the screen of the Lexington carrier task group
of Mltscher's TF 58, and on 16 February her flattops launched the first air
strikes against Japan since the famed Doolittle raid that had been launched
from carrier Hornet in April 1942. |
| Missouri then steamed with the carriers to Iwo Jima where
her mighty guns provided direct and continuous support to the invasion landings
begun 19 February. After TF 58 returned to Ulithi 5 March, Missouri
was assigned to the Yorktown carrier task group. On 14 March,
Missouri departed Ulithi in the screen of the fast carriers and steamed
to the Japanese mainland. During strikes against targets along the coast
of the Inland Sea of Japan beginning 18 March, Missouri splashed four
Japanese aircraft. |
| Raids against airfields and naval bases near the Inland Sea and
southwestern Honshu continued. Wasp, crashed by an enemy suicide plane
19 March, resumed flight operations within an hour. Two bombs penetrated
the hangar deck and decks aft of carrier Franklin, leaving her dead
in the water within 50 miles of the Japanese mainland. Cruiser
Pittsburgh took Franklin in tow until she gained speed to 14
knots. Missouri's carrier task group provided cover for
Franklin's retirement toward Ulithi until 22 March, and then set course
for preinvasion strikes and bombardment of Okinawa. |
| Missouri joined the fast battleships of TF 58 in bombarding
the southeast coast of Okinawa 24 March, an action intended to draw enemy
strength from the west coast beaches that would be the actual site of invasion
landings. Missouri rejoined the screen of the carriers as Marine and
Army units stormed the shores of Okinawa on the morning of 1 April. Planes
from the carriers shattered a special Japanese attacking force led by battleship
Yamato 7 April. Yamato the world's largest battlewagon was
sunk, as were a cruiser and a destroyer. Three other enemy destroyers were
heavily damaged and scuttled. Four remaining destroyers, sole survivors of
the attacking fleet, were damaged and retired to Sasebo. |
| On 11 April, Missouri opened fire on a low-flying suicide
plane that penetrated the curtain of her shells to crash just below her main
deck level. The starboard wing of the plane was thrown far forward, starting
a gasoline fire at 5-inch Gunmount No. 3. Yet the battleship suffered only
superficial damage, and the fire was brought quickly under control. |
| About 2305 on 17 April, Missouri detected an enemy submarine
12 miles from her formation. Her report set off a hunter-killer operation
by carrier Bataan and four destroyers that sank Japanese submarine
I-56. |
| Missouri was detached from the carrier task force off Okinawa
5 May and sailed for Ulithi. During the Okinawa campaign she had shot down
five enemy planes, assisted in the destruction of six others, and scored
one probable kill. She helped repel 12 daylight attacks of enemy raiders
and fought off four night attacks on her carrier task group. Her shore
bombardment destroyed several gun emplacements and many other military,
governmental and industrial structures. |
| Missouri arrived Ulithi 9 May and thence proceeded to Apra
Harbor, Guam, 18 May. That afternoon Adm. William F. Halsey, Jr., Commander
3d Fleet, broke his flag in Missouri. She passed out of the harbor
21 May, and by 27 May was again conducting shore bombardment against Japanese
positions on Okinawa. Missouri now led the mighty 3d Fleet in strikes
on airfields and installations on Kyushu 2 and 3 June. She rode out a fierce
storm 5 and 6 June that wrenched off the bow of cruiser Pittsburgh.
Some topside fittings were smashed, but Missouri suffered no major
damage. Her fleet again struck Kyushu 8 June, then hit hard in a coordinated
air?surface bombardment before retiring towards Leyte. She arrived San Pedro,
Leyte, 13 June, after almost 3 months of continuous operations in support
of the Okinawa campaign. |
| Here she prepared to lead the 3d Fleet in strikes at the heart
of Japan from within its home waters. The mighty fleet set a northerly course
8 July to approach the Japanese mainland. Raids took Tokyo by surprise 10
July, followed by more devastation at the juncture of Honshu and Hokkaido
13 and 14 July. For the first time, a naval gunfire force wrought destruction
on a major installation within the home islands when Missouri closed
the shore to join in a bombardment 15 July that rained destruction on the
Nihon Steel Co. and the Wanishi Ironworks at Muroran, Hokkaido. |
| During the night of 17-18 July Missouri bombarded industrial
targets in the Hichiti area. Inland Sea aerial strikes continued through
25 July, and Missouri guarded the carriers as they struck hard blows
at the Japanese capital. As July ended, the Japanese no longer had any home
waters. Missouri had led her fleet to gain control of the air and
sea approaches to the very shores of Japan. |
| Strikes on Hokkaido and northern Honshu resumed 9 August, the
day the second atomic bomb was dropped. Next day, at 2054, Missouri's
men were electrified by the unofficial news that Japan was ready to surrender,
provided that the Emperor's prerogatives as a sovereign ruler were not
compromised. Not until 0745, 15 August, was word received that President
Truman had announced Japan's acceptance of unconditional surrender. |
| Adm. Sir Bruce Fraser, RN (Commander, British Pacific Fleet) boarded
Missouri 16 August, and conferred the order Knight of the British
Empire upon Admiral Halsey. Missouri transferred a landing party of
200 officers and men to battleship Iowa for temporary duty with the
initial occupation force for Tokyo 21 August. Missouri herself entered
Tokyo Bay early 29 August to prepare for the normal surrender ceremony. |
| High-ranking military officials of all the Allied Powers were
received on board 2 September. Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz boarded shortly
after 0810, and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (Supreme Commander
for the Allies) came on board at 0843. The Japanese representatives, headed
by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, arrived at 0856. At 0902 General MacArthur
stepped before a battery of microphones and the 23-minute surrender ceremony
was broadcast to the waiting world. By 0930 the Japanese emissaries had
departed. |
| The afternoon of 5 September Admiral Halsey transferred his flag
to battleship South Dakota. Early next day Missouri departed
Tokyo Bay to receive homeward bound passengers at Guam, thence sailed unescorted
for Hawaii. She arrived Pearl Harbor 20 September and flew Admiral Nimitz'
flag on the afternoon of 28 September for a reception. |
| The next day Missouri departed Pearl Harbor bound for the
eastern seaboard of the United States. She reached New York City 23 October
and broke the flag of Adm. Johas Ingram, commander in chief, Atlantic Fleet,
Missouri boomed out a 21-gun salute 27 October as President Truman
boarded for Navy day ceremonies. In his address, the President stated, "control
of our sea approaches and of the skies above them is still the key to our
freedom and to our ability to help enforce the peace of the world" |
| After overhaul in the New York Naval Shipyard and a training cruise
to Cuba, Missouri returned to New York. The afternoon of 21 March
1946, she received the remains of the Turkish Ambassador to the United States,
Melmet Munir Ertegun She departed 22 March for Gibraltar and 5 April anchored
in the Bosphorus off Istanbul. She rendered full honors, including the firing
of a 19-gun salute during both the transfer of the remains of the late Ambassador
and the funeral ashore. |
| Missouri departed Istanbul 9 April and entered Phaleron
Bay, Piraeus, Greece, the following day for an overwhelming welcome by Greek
government officials and people. She had arrived in a year when there were
ominous Russian overtures and activities in the entire Balkan area. Greece
had become the scene of a Communist-inspired civil war, as Russia sought
every possible extension of Soviet influence throughout the Mediterranean
region. Demands were made that Turkey grant the Soviets a base of sea power
in the Dodecanese Islands and joint control of the Turkish Straits leading
from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean. |
| The voyage of Missouri to the eastern Mediterranean gave
comfort to both Greece and Turkey. News media proclaimed her a symbol of
U.S. interest in preserving Greek and Turkish liberty. With an August decision
to deploy a strong fleet to the Mediterranean, it became obvious that the
United States intended to use her naval sea and air power to stand firm against
the tide of Soviet subversion. |
| Missouri departed Piraeus 26 April, touching at Algiers
and Tangiers before arriving Norfolk 9 May. She departed for Culebra Island
12 May to join Admiral Mitscher's 8th Fleet in the Navy's first large-scale
postwar Atlantic training maneuvers. The battleship returned to New York
City 27 May, and spent the neat year steaming Atlantic coastal waters north
to the Davis Straits and south to the Caribbean on various Atlantic command
training exercises. |
| Missouri arrived Rio de Janeiro 30 August 1947 for the
Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Hemisphere Peace and Security.
President Truman boarded 2 September to celebrate the signing of the Rio
Treaty that broadened the Monroe Doctrine, stipulating that an attack on
one of the signatory American States would be considered an attack on
all. |
| The Truman family boarded Missouri 7 September to return
to the United States and debarked at Norfolk 19 September. Overhaul in New
York (23 September to 10 March 1948) was followed by refresher training at
Guantanamo Bay. Summer 1948 was devoted to midshipman and reserve training
cruises. The battleship departed Norfolk 1 November for a second 3-week Arctic
cold weather training cruise to the Davis Straits. The next 2 years
Missouri participated in Atlantic command exercises ranging from the
New England coast to the Caribbean, alternated with two midshipman summer
training cruises. She was overhauled at Norfolk Naval Shipyard 23 September
1949 to 17 January 1950. |
| Now the only U.S. battleship in commission, Missouri was
proceeding seaward on a training mission from Hampton Roads early 17 January
when she ran aground at a point 1.6 miles from Thimble Shoals Light, near
Old Point Comfort. She traversed shoal water a distance of three ship lengths
from the main channel. Lifted some 7 feet above waterline, she stuck hard
and fast. With the aid of tugs, pontoons and an incoming tide, she was re-floated
1 February. |
| From mid-February until 15 August, Missouri conducted
midshipman and reserve training cruises out of Norfolk. She departed Norfolk
19 August to support U.N. forces in their fight against Communist aggression
in Korea. |
| Missouri joined the U.N. just west of Kyushu 14 September,
becoming flagship of Rear Adm. A. E. Smith. The first American battleship
to reach Korean waters, she bombarded Samchok 15 September in a diversionary
move coordinated with the Inchon landings. In company with cruiser
Helena and two destroyers, she helped prepare the way for the 8th
Army offensive. |
| Missouri arrived Inchon 19 September, and 10 October became
flagship of Rear Adm. J. M. Higgins, commander, Cruiser Division 5. She arrived
Sasebo 14 October, where she became flagship of Vice Adm. A. D. Struble,
Commander, 7th Fleet. After screening carrier Valley Forge along the
east coast of Korea, she conducted bombardment missions 12 to 26 October
in the Chonjin and Tanchon areas, and at Wonsan. After again screening carriers
eastward of Wonsan she moved into Hungnam 23 December to provide gunfire
support about the Hungnam defense perimeter until the last U.N. troops, the
U.S. 3d Infantry Division, were evacuated by way of the sea on Christmas
Eve. |
| Missouri conducted additional operations with carriers
and systematic shore bombardments off the east coast of Korea until 19 March
1951. She arrived Yokosuka 24 March, and 4 days later was relieved of duty
in the Far East. She departed Yokosuka 28 March, and upon arrival Norfolk
27 April became flagship of Rear Adm. J. L. Holloway, Jr., commander, Cruiser
Force, Atlantic Fleet. Summer 1951 she engaged in two midshipman training
cruises to northern Europe. Missouri entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard
18 October for overhaul until 30 January 1952. |
| Following winter and spring training out of Guantanamo Bay,
Missouri visited New York, then set course from Norfolk 9 June for
another midshipman cruise. She returned to Norfolk 4 August and entered Norfolk
Naval Shipyard to prepare for a second tour in the Korean Combat Zone. |
| Missouri stood out of Hampton Roads 11 September and arrived
Yokosuka 17 October. She broke the flag of Vice Adm. J. J. Clark, commander
of the 7th Fleet, 19 October. Her primary mission was to provide seagoing
artillery support by bombarding enemy targets in the Chaho?Tanchon area,
at Chongjin, in the Tanchon-Sonjin area, and at Chaho, Wonsan, Hamhung and
Hungnam during the period 25 October through 2 January 1953. |
| Missouri put in to Inchon 5 January 1953 and sailed thence
to Sasebo, Japan. Gen. Mark Clark, Commander in Chief, U.N. Command and Adm.
Sir Guy Russell, RN, commander of the British Far East Station, visited the
battleship 23 January. In the following weeks, Missouri resumed "Cobra"
patrol along the east coast of Korea in direct support of troops ashore.
Repeated strikes against Wonsan, Tanchon, Hungnam and Kojo destroyed main
supply routes along the eastern seaboard. |
| The last gunstrike mission by Missouri was against the
Kojo area 25 March. She sustained a grievous casualty 26 March, when her
commanding officer Capt. Warner R. Edsall suffered a fatal heart attack while
conning her through the submarine net at Sasebo. She was relieved as 7th
Fleet flagship 6 April by battleship New Jersey. |
| Missouri departed Yokosuka 7 April and arrived Norfolk
4 May, to become flagship for Rear Adm. E. T. Woolridge, commander,
Battleships-Cruisers, Atlantic Fleet, 14 May. She departed 8 June on a midshipman
training cruise, returned to Norfolk 4 August, and was overhauled in Norfolk
Naval Shipyard 20 November to 2 April 1954. |
| Now the flagship of Rear Adm. R. E. Kirby, who had relieved Admiral
Woolridge, Missouri departed Norfolk 7 June as flagship of the midshipman
training cruise to Lisbon and Cherbourg. She returned Norfolk 3 August and
departed the 23d for inactivation on the west coast. After calls at Long
Beach and San Francisco, Missouri arrived Seattle 15 September. Three
days later, she entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard where she decommissioned
26 February 1955, entering the Bremerton group, Pacific Reserve Fleet. |
| Although now in reserve, "Mighty Mo" remains very much a part
of the Navy and is a popular center of attention at Bremerton. Each year
approximately 100,000 visitors board her. She can best be reached by a
once-daily, weekday, 75-minute guided bus tour of the Pacific Fleet at Bremerton,
and she can be toured from 0800 to sundown, year around. |
| In May 1984, the sleeping giant once again heard the call to arms.
The United States Navy was recalling its dreadnoughts for modernization and
updating. |
| These weapons platforms were needed for an expanded 600-ship Navy
to lead battle groups and help establish the U.S. naval presence around the
globe. USS Missouri was recommissioned in San Francisco 10 May 1986.
|
| "This is a day to celebrate the rebirth of American sea power."
said then-Secretary of Defense Casper W. Weinberger to an audience of 10,000
witnessing the historic ceremony. He admonished the crew to "listen for the
footsteps of those who have gone before you. They speak to you of honor and
the importance of duty. They remind you of your own traditions." |
| Four months later, The nation's most historic battleship departed
her new homeport of Long Beach for an around-the-world cruise, bringing her
message of "Strength for Freedom" to eight nations: Australia, Diego Garcia,
Egypt, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Panama. |
| On 25 July 1987, the crew of Missouri was ordered for duty
in the troubled waters of the Persian Gulf and departed on a six- month
deployment to the Indian Ocean and North Arabian Sea. The ship spent more
than 100 continuous days at sea in a hot, tense environment which posed a
striking contrast to the World Cruise months earlier. As the centerpiece
for Battlegroup Echo, Missouri steamed into the volatile operating
arena and maintained a level of peace in the Middle East, which remained
fragile and vital. |
| Missouri returned to the United States via Diego Garcia,
Australia and Hawaii in early 1988. Several months later, Missouri's
crew again returned to Hawaiian waters for the Rim of the Pacific (RimPac)
exercises involving more than 50,000 members of the Armed Forces and ships
from the navies of Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. Port visits
in 1988 included Vancouver and Victoria Island in Canada, San Diego, Seattle
and Bremerton. |
| 1989 was a hectic year in the life of Missouri. The early
part of the year found the ship in the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for routine
maintenance. Independence Day weekend brought its share of fireworks. Academy
Award-winning actress/singer Cher made a rock music video on
Missouri's foc'sle. The video also starred a couple hundred members
of the crew, and although controversial due to Cher's outfit, it was a smash.
The song "If I Could Turn Back Time" was a chart topper. A few months later,
Missouri and crew departed for Pacific Exercise (PacEx) '89, which
found Missouri and her sister ship USS New Jersey performing
a simultaneous gunfire demonstration for the aircraft carriers USS
Enterprise (CVN 65) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68). The highlight
of PacEx was a port visit in Pusan, Republic of Korea. |
| In 1990, Missouri again took part in the RimPac Exercise
with ships from Australia, Canada, Japan and Korea in addition with United
States Navy ships. |
| On 2 August 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny
emirate of Kuwait. In the middle of the month, President George Bush sent
the first of several hundred thousand troops, along with a strong force of
naval support to Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf area to support a
multi-national force in a standoff with the Iraqi dictator. A scheduled
four-month Western Pacific port-to-port cruise for September was cancelled
just a few days before the ship was to leave. Missouri was put on
hold in anticipation of being called to support the still-growing force in
the Middle East. |
| The word came. Missouri departed in mid-November for the
troubled waters of the Arabian Gulf. Amid the press coverage that a ship
the stature of Missouri is used to receiving, the mighty dreadnought pulled
away from Pier 6 at Long Beach and headed for Hawaii, first stop on the long
journey to the Gulf. Missouri's crew celebrated Thanksgiving in Pearl
Harbor, then headed for the Philippines for more work-ups en route to the
Persian Gulf. Next stop after Subic Bay was Pattaya Beach, Thailand, for
a couple days of liberty, amidst the underway training of gunnery, General
Quarters and protection from the possibility of attacks by chemical
weapons. |
| Missouri arrived in the Gulf a few days into the new year
of 1991, and immediately answered a distress call from a ship on fire in
Gulf waters. Missouri dispatched fire fighting experts to help, and
then journeyed onto the island emirate of Bahrain. |
| After a very short liberty in Bahrain, Missouri was called
on to begin heading north for operations. It was a few days after that, on
17 January 1991, the ship fired Tomahawk missiles at Iraqi-held targets.
The early morning fireworks helped mark the start of the war. |
| While the United States and other countries around the world heard
the words "The liberation of Kuwait has begun," Missouri continued
to fire Tomahawks — 28 in all. |
| The war continued as Allied air superiority continued to dominate
the demoralized Iraqi army. In February 1991, Missouri fired her 16-inch
guns — the first firing of her guns in anger since the Korean conflict
in the 1950s. Firing at targets just north of Khafji, Saudi Arabia, the ship
assisted shore-based ground units in their tasks. Missouri shared
gunnery duties with USS Wisconsin (BB 64) and the two battleships
continued to hammer at their targets with 16-inch gunnery. Near the end of
the month, Missouri turned her big guns on Faylaka Island and Kuwait
City in support of the ground offensive. Iraq agreed to a cease fire agreement
on 28 February 1991. |
| In mid-March, Missouri made the long transit back to the
West Coast, via two ports in Australia: Perth and Hobart, Tasmania. The ship
returned to a joyous reunion with loved ones six months to the day she
departed. |
| Missouri's last year found the ship visiting Seattle,
Vancouver, British Columbia and San Francisco. |
| The ship left for one final mission the day after Thanksgiving
1991. Heading across the Pacific, "Mighty Mo's" last act of diplomacy was
to visit Pearl Harbor for the remembrance of those who had died 50 years
earlier on 7 December 1941. It is a rare sight indeed to see the beginning
and the end of U.S. involvement in World War II in the same port. Following
the commemoration, Missouri's last cruise was back to the U.S. to
off-load over 1,000 16-inch projectiles, more than 6,000 5- inch projectiles,
16 Harpoon missile canisters and all remaining Tomahawk cruise missiles to
prepare for the ship's imminent decommissioning. |
| Missouri, veteran of four wars, was decommissioned for
the final time on 31 March 1992 at Long Beach, California. Her final commanding
officer, Capt. A.L. Kaiss, wrote this final note for the ship's last Plan
of the Day: |
| "Our final day has arrived. Today the final chapter in battleship
Missouri's history will be written. It's often said that the crew
makes the command. There is no truer statement ... for it's the crew of this
great ship that made this a great command. You are a special breed of sailors
and Marines and I am proud to have served with each and every one of you.
To you who have made the painful journey of putting this great lady to sleep,
I thank you. For you have had the toughest job. To put away a ship that has
become as much a part of you as you are to her is a sad ending to a great
tour. But take solace in this — you have lived up to the history of
the ship and those who sailed her before us. We took her to war, performed
magnificently and added another chapter in her history, standing side by
side our forerunners in true naval tradition. God bless you all." |
| On 4 May 1998, Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton signed the
donation contract officially transferring the historic battleship to the
USS Missouri Memorial Association (MMA) of Honolulu, Hawaii. The ship
was gently guided and delicately docked at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, June
22 after a 2,300-mile voyage across the Pacific from Bremerton, Washington,
that began May 23. |
| Located 1,000 yards from the Arizona Memorial at Pearl
Harbor, Missouri was opened as a museum 29 Jan. 1999. The museum is
operated by the USS Missouri Memorial Association, a non-profit
organization. |
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