The USS Missouri was still under construction when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The Mighty Mo entered service in 1944, participated in the Battle of Okinawa, and anchored in Tokyo Bay after the US dropped the atomic bomb.
The USS Missouri was selected to host the Japanese surrender on board in September 2, 1945. The Mighty Mo also fought in the Korean Conflict and Gulf War. Today, she is a floating museum, standing guard over the USS Arizona Memorial. The two ships represent the start and end of US participation in WWII.
My son's scout troop participated in the Mighty Mo's overnight encampment. I previously posted pictures form their first visit at this link. I joined them for their second visit.
The Mighty Mo is longer than the Titanic. It was a floating city with almost every function, including a barbershop!
From the deck, we spotted the Sea Based X Band Radar (SBX) aka the giant golf ball. The radar sits atop a self propelled oil platform. It can track a baseball (or Korean missile) flying across the Pacific.
The sun begins to set over the Wai'anae Mountains ....
... I widen the photo to capture the Sea Whiz air defense. It looks like R2D2!
The Big Guns at sunset ....
After dinner, we toured the command center on the upper deck.
This area was featured in BATTLESHIP.
A sailor would stand behind the status board and write backwards so the commander would see it forward.
Actors from the movie used this chair (and the telephone above) to call for the last available bomb to fire on the aliens.
We slept in the original bunks. Not comfortable. But the experience was worth the sunrise over Pearl Harbor.
Today's comments are open forum.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
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| A new arrival to Pearl Harbor - the USS Michael Murphy. She is named for the Navy SEAL who gave his life to save his team in Afghanistan. |
