Missouri (BB 63) - Naval Cruise Book

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The Missouri in Tokyo Bjv Sept. 2. 1945. Adm Nimitz signs the instru- ment of formal surrender of Japan to the allied powers. At the conclusion of the surrender cere- mony, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. General to the Army Douglas MacArthur spoke these words: Let us pray that peace be now restored 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 perfect ending for a climactic scene in this real- life drama. Upon departure from Japanese waters, Missouri stopped in Pearl Harbor, transit- ed the Panama Canal and stopped in Nor- folk, 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 outcome: Boarding Party of 75,000 Captures Mighty Missou-

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In 1944. the newspapers heralded the launching of the battleship Missouri with headlines such as. World ' s Greatest Warship Is Launched in Brook- lyn. In 1986, the newly r ecommissioned dreadnought was greeted with the head- line. Mighty Mo Rules The Waves Again. From the moment she was launched, the history of the USS Missouri has been a drama of adventure and triumph. No Hol- lywood moviemaker could have come up with a better script. January 29, 1944 - the USS Missouri is launched. Harry S. Truman, the junior Senator from the State of Missouri, was the main speaker. He predicted in his speech that this great warship would sail victoriously into Tokyo Bay. At the con- clusion of his speech that cold, gray morn- ing, his daughter, Margaret, took a mag- num of Missouri champagne and gripping it like a baseball bat gave a mighty bash against the ship. The bottle broke but nothing else happened. It seemed to have a mind of its own and was not in the mood for launching, Margaret Truman related. Since a great deal of the superstructure was in place, it was the heaviest ship ever launched at iImi time Playfully, the college student put her hand on the bow and gave the ship a shove. Miraculously, al that moment, the ship began to slide down the ways. Just as she struck the water, the sun came out for the first time that day. A perfect ending for the first scene in this real-life drama. It had been only three years from the time the keel was laid at the New York Naval Shipyard. This was to be the last battleship built by the United States, but her destiny called her to be more than a warship. At the ship ' s first commissioning, June 11, 1944, James V. Forrestal, the Secre- tary of the Navy, sent the battlewagon into action with these simple, but prophetic words, Good luck, good hunting, God bless you and may you come back soon. November 10, 1944 - USS Missouri was underway for the Pacific. She reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet on Christmas Eve, 1 944. To the soldiers, sailors and Ma- rines throughout the Pacific theater of war, this was more than a battlewagon. This was Santa Claus and a taste of home. Every available space on the ship was crammed with mailbags bringing Christ- mas greetings and packages from loved ones back in the U.S.A. What followed is recorded in the rib- bons now painted on her superstructure. She received three battle stars. The first for the Iwo Jima Operations, the second for Okinawa Sunto Operations and the third for Third Fleet Operations against Japan. The Iwo Jima Operations included raids against Honshu and the Nansei Shore as well as the final assault and occupation of Iwo Jima in February and March 1945. In March through June 1945, Missouri took part in the 5th and 3rd fleet raids in support of the Okinawa Sunto Operation and then followed this with the 3rd Fleet Operations against the mainland of Japan In July and August. September 2, 1945 - Harry S. Truman, former junior Senator from Missouri, is now President of the United States. The entire world has their attention focused on the deck of USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay. Just as the junior Senator, then Vice President, moved with resolute dignity and grace into the highest office in the 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 Surrender. Thus did this ship assume an enduring place in the history of the world Margaret Truman, sponsor for USS Missouri, al left, during the launcfnng ceremony as her father. Harry S. Truman, a Missouri senator, iitnesses the smashing event.

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INSTRUMENT OF SURRENDER Ql V -(- f ' I- ' A i J j ff T- 7 . y .. «-:f g A tA. g -- ' , - .Su-ZZx M ' A ' tZl . ■ .. I fe .K.-v . A reporter of the day wrote, New York opened its generous heart to the USS Mis- souri yesterday and the result left the bat- tle-tested crew of the historic 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 Riv- er 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 daughter, Margaret, had chris- tened the ship. Other visitors included Margaret Truman and New York Gover- nor 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 surrender deck of the Mighty Mo on December 21, 1945. The music of the 100 voice choir from the New York Naval Shipyard was broadcast over a nation-wide radio hook- up. Japan . Allied planes pass over the USS Missouri during the surrender ceremonies in To- kyo Bay. The next big event for Missouri was a Mediterranean mission. Bearing the re- mains of Mehmet Munir Ertegun, de- ceased Turkish Ambassador to the 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 spe- cial postage stamps bearing a likeness of the ship, newspapers printed special edi- tions and Turks filled everything that could float to go out and greet the Mighty Mo as she sailed into the Bos- phorus. 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 Is- tanbul. 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.