Missouri (BB 63) - Naval Cruise Book

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INSTRUMENT OF SUKklNOlK n ! f ■ • , Top, suicide bent, this Kamikaze pilot of a Japa- nese Zeke plane tries to maneuver his plane onto the tesk deck of USS Missouri in April 1945. The crash injured no one onboard and caused only minor damage to the battleship. At left. President Harry Truman examines the plaque imbedded in the deck of Missouri. Below, Presi- dent and Mrs. Harry Truman pass down the crew ' s chow line during a Presidential voyage re- ning from an international meeting in South America.

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land, so, too, the USS Missouri took her place in the spotlight where it was said she became an altar of peace as the Japanese signed the Instrument of Sur- render. Thus did this ship assume an endur- ing place in the history of the world. At the conclusion of the surrender ceremony, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur spoke these words: Let us pray that peace be now re- stored to the world and that God will preserve it always. These proceedings are now closed. At that moment, the sun came out for the first time that day . . . another per- fect ending for a climactic scene in this real-life drama. Upon departure from Japanese wa- ters, Missouri stopped in Pearl Harbor, transited the Panama Canal and stopped in Norfolk, Virginia, where the surrender plaque was set in place. Thousands of Virginians boarded the ship for a view of the spot where the surrender took place. But this was nothing compared to the welcome that lay waiting in New York. The headlines were an augur of things to come: HAIL MISSOURI TODAY , Welcome Waits Surrender Ship , Big Mo, Star of Fleet, To Dock in Triumph Here This Morning. The next day the headlines told of the out- come: Boarding Party Of 75,000 Cap- tures Mighty Missouri. A reporter of the day wrote, New York opened its generous heart to the USS Missouri yesterday and the result left the battle-tested crew of the histor- ic Tokyo Bay surrender ship gasping . . . By sundown, police estimated, more than 75,000 had gone up the gangplanks and stepped across the bronze plaque But the adulation didn ' t stop there. On Navy Day 1945, October 27, while the ship was anchored in the Hudson River a launch came alongside carrying the President of the United States. Harry S. Truman, while signing the guest log, said, This is the happiest day of my life. He then went on to remind his companions that his daugh- ter, Margaret, had christened the ship. Other visitors included Margaret Tru- man and New York Governor Thomas Dewey. At the end of her two week stay in New York, Missouri had seen one million visitors on her decks. Peace on Earth was the message broadcast to the nation from the sur- render deck of the Mighty Mo on De- cember 21, 1945. The music of the 100 voice choir from the New York Naval Shipyard was broadcast over a nation- wide radio hook-up. The next big event for Missouri was a Mediterranean mission. Bearing the re- mains of Mehmet Munir Ertegun, de- ceased Turkish Ambassador to the Above, USS Missouri fires a six-gun sal- vo from her forward turrets during sha- kedown training in 1944. The projec- tiles can be seen in flight in the upper middle right portion of this picture. At left, the ceremony for signing of the Japanese surrender document was held onboard Missouri on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay. Here, General of the Army Douglas Mac Arthur opens the ceremony with a speech. United States, the battleship headed for Istanbul where he would be buried in his native land. The visit to Turkey was a memorable one. The Turkish government issued special postage stamps bearing a like- ness of the ship, newspapers printed special editions and Turks filled every- thing that could float to go out and greet the Mighty Mo as she sailed into the Bosphorus. They couldn ' t do enough for us, Chief Carpenter ' s Mate Fred Miletich of Seattle explained. Why, we asked a storekeeper where a place was and he walked seven blocks just to show us. The official receptions and parties ran steadily the four days the ship was in Istanbul. A contemporary newspaper reported, The Turks treated her as a kind of shrine — a symbol of peace. After they had milled on and off the decks there wasn ' t even a cigarette butt to be found. The honors and receptions continued wherever she put into port — Athens, Tangier, Naples. In Rome, Pope Pius XII postponed his Easter Sunday pub- lic audience for a special meeting with 400 crewmembers because our Ameri- can sons have come to see us on Easter Sunday and we want to fulfill their wish. Missouri ' s next venture into the spot- light occurred when she became the floating White House. On the second anniversary of Surrender Day, the Truman family came aboard in Rio de Janeiro for a trip back to the United States following the Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Hemisphere Peace and Security. While anchored in Rio the ship ' s company took part in the Brazilian In- dependence Day celebrations with Mis- souri ' s entire detachment of Marines and two divisions of sailors leading the parade. During the parade we stood at atten- tion in the reviewing stand while what seemed like the entire Brazilian army marched by for four and a half hours, reminisced Margaret Truman. It was a beautiful, even a spectacular show, and the military music was magnificent.

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During the Korean Conflict, USS Missouri fires a salvo of 16-inch shells from Turret 2 at enemy forces at Chong Jim, North Korea on October 21, 1950. On the cruise to the U. S., the Tru- man family and White House staffers took part in a traditional ceremony that finds it ' s roots in the longboats of the Vikings — the special initiation for the crossing of the Equator. When Ruffles and Flourishes are sounded for the President of the United States, he ' s entitle to four ruffles. The Royal Visitor on that occasion re- ceived six ruffles, and a one-gun salute. Thus, on the fantail of the USS Mis- souri, the President of the United States became the nation ' s Number 1 pollywog, who along with his family and staff was answerable to for annual Midshipman Practice Cruises during the summer seasons. During these per- iods at sea, the Midshipmen exper- ienced hands-on training and much of their time was devoted to simulated battle conditions. Additionally, Naval diplomacy was practiced with great suc- cess during port calls to Greece, Algeria, France, Portugal, Great Britain and Cuba. In 1950 Missouri found herself the only battleship in commission when she was again called into combat in sup- port of the United Nations forces in Korea. Serving two combat deploy- ments between 1950 and 1953, she earned five additional battle stars in numerous gunfire support missions in- cluding the Inchon invasion. Peacetime returned the ship to a rou- tine of training, upkeep and midship- man cruises, which carried her almost half a million miles by her tenth anni- versary of uninterrupted active service. Norfolk, Virginia, the Missouri ' s ho- meport since September 1946, bid the battleship goodbye on August 23, 1954 as her sistership, Iowa, rendered honors across Pier 7. Following a 12 hour transit of the Pa- nama Canal, the ship moored for gener- al visiting . Other stops at Long Beach, San Francisco, Seattle, and Bremerton brought aboard additional visitors for a total of 100,000 guests bidding fond farewell to the Mighty Mo. Guns silent, engines stilled, bleached teakwood decks turning gray, the USS Missouri spent three decades moored in Bremerton, Washington. Never forgot- ten by the public, more than 180,000 paid their respects each year to the val- iant lady at rest as part of the reserve fleet. In May 1984, the sleeping giant once again heard the call to arms. The Unit- ed States Navy was recalling her dread- noughts for modernization and updat- ing. 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. May 10, 1986. The USS Missouri (BB 63) is recommissioned in San Francisco. This is a day to celebrate the rebirth of American sea power, said Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger to an audience of 10,000 witnessing the his- toric ceremony. He admonished the crew: Listen for the footsteps of those who have gone before you. They speak to you of honor and of the importance of duty. They remind you of your own traditions. September 10, 1986. Our nation ' s most historic warship departs Long Beach, California for a round-the-world cruise, bringing her message of Strength for Freedom to eight na- tions — Australia, Diego Garcia, Egypt, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Pa-