On our last full day in Hawaii, we took a tour of the the world's most famous American Battleship, the USS Missouri, also known as "Mighty Mo".
The "Mighty Mo" was the last American battleship ever built and the last to be decommissioned. The surrender of the Japanese on the deck of the Missouri brought the Second World War to an end and remains one of the most impressive highlights in her illustrious, 50-year career, spanning three wars, and three generations of American fighting men and women.
We took the 35 minute guided tour where we learned about the logistics of this behemoth of a ship as well as the main historical events of which she was a part.
We were able to get a distant view of the USS Arizona Memorial while onboard the Missouri. We really wanted to do the USS Arizona tour, but it was closed for renovations. I had taken that tour years ago when I visited with my family, it is a beautifully constructed memorial that slings over the sunken Arizona ship that sunk on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. 1,177 crew members heroically gave up their lives for their country on that ship on that devastating day.
The most historical event that happened aboard the USS Missouri happened on September 2, 1945 when Japan signed its official and unconditional surrender on the decks of this battleship, officially bringing World War II to an end.
The specific spot on board in known as the surrender deck and has all sorts of memorabilia from that fateful day in Tokyo Bay.
The second most visited area of Mighty Mo is the Kamikaze dent.
"During the Battle of Okinawa, on the afternoon of April 11, 1945, USS Missouri came under kamikaze attack and managed to shoot down all but one of the planes. A single Japanese Zero, although riddled with anti-aircraft fire, succeeded in striking the battleship on its starboard side. Fortunately, the plane's 500-lb bomb did not explode, although fuel from the plane started a fire in one of the anti-aircraft gun mounts. There were no American casualties.
Debris from the plane cluttered the deck. A corpsman discovered the remains of the young Kamikaze pilot, he called up to the bridge, asking whether he should discard it overboard. Missouri Captain William M. Callaghan made his controversial decision: “No, when we are secure, take it down to the sick bay, and we'll have a burial for him tomorrow.' This did not sit well with many of Missouri's crew, but they obeyed their captain's orders. Three of the crew stitched together together an improvised Japanese flag, to wrap his remains in.
The next day, April 12, a burial at sea with military honors was performed. The ship's chaplain performed the service and six pall bearers tipped the flag-draped remains into the sea to a volley of rifle fire. Although there was much bitterness among some of the crew, Captain Callaghan insisted it was the honorable thing to do. The pilot was “a fellow warrior who had displayed courage and devotion, and who had paid the ultimate sacrifice with his life, fighting for his country”. He understood his crew's feelings toward the enemy-- his own brother had been killed fighting the Japanese on Guadalcanal three years earlier-- but he felt it necessary to show honor and respect to a brave warrior, even if he was the enemy. He believed the kamikaze pilot was doing his job, as his country demanded."
Our guided tour only included the top deck of the ship, after our time with the guide, we were able to explore the rest of the ship at our leisure. The inside of the ship has been turned into a sort of museum, dedicated to all the history this ship has been a part of, it also gives visitors a glimpse into what life on a battleship is like for its crew members.
Construction of the USS Missouri was ordered in 1940 and commissioned in June 1944. In the Pacific Theater of World War II she fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands, and she fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. She was decommissioned in 1955 into the United States Navy reserve fleets (the "Mothball Fleet"), but reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan, and provided fire support during Operation Desert Storm in January/February 1991.
Missouri received a total of 11 battle stars for service in World War II, Korea, and the Persian Gulf, and was finally decommissioned on 31 March 1992 after serving a total of 17 years of active service, but remained on the Naval Vessel Register until her name was struck in January 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor.
