Missouri (BB 63) - Naval Cruise Book

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The battleship begins its Journey to modernization under tow by salvage ship USS Beaufort from the mothball fleet in Bremerton. Washington, where the Mighty fo had been since Feb- ruary 26. 1955. l. b,nci the b.mlc hip hc.ids lor r c.icn .iii. re still guarding against the viL-jf j six twin-mount five-inch guns is lifted for pL scaffolding.

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(Above) The Iowa-class battleships in line abreast lormaiion sicam over the sea on June I l-J 4 The ships are L SS lotva. nearest the eamera. L S e« Jerse). USS Missouri, and USS Wisconsin. (Below) On the fourth anniversary of VJ. Day. personnel took part in a USS Missouri ceremony in 1949.

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Caspar W Weinberger. Secretary of Defense, addresses the thousands of people that gathered in San Francisco t cond Commissioning of Miss Peacetime returned the ship to a routine of training, upkeep and midshipman cruises, which carried her almost half a million miles by her tenth anniversary of uninterrupted active service. Norfolk, Virginia, the Missouri ' s home- port since September 1946, bid the battle- ship goodbye on August 23, 1954 as her sistership, Iowa, rendered honors across Pier 7. Following a 1 2 hour transit of the Pana- ma Canal, the ship moored for general 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 forgotten by the public, more than 180,000 paid their respects each year to the valiant lady at rest as part of the reserve fleet. In May 1984, the sleeping giant once again heard the call to arms. The United States Navy was recalling its dread- noughts 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. 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 au- dience of 10,000 witnessing the historic ceremony. He admonished the crew: Lis- ten 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, Cali- fornia for a round-the-world cruise, bring- ing her message of Strength for Free- dom to eight nations - Australia, Diego Garcia, Egypt, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Por- tugal and Panama. On July 25, 1987, the crew of the Mis- souri was ordered to duty in the troubled Arabian Gulf region and departed on a six-month deployment to the Indian Ocean and North Arabian Sea. More than 100 consecutive days at sea in a hot, tense environment posed a striking contrast to the World Cruise months earlier. As the centerpiece for Battlegroup Echo, the Missouri steamed into the volatile operat- ing arena and maintained a level of peace in the Mideast which remains fragile and vital. Through v olumes of history, an exten- sive modernization program, an Around- the-World cruise and demanding deploy- ment in response to embattled sea lanes, the world ' s most historic battleship has now taken on the challenge of charting a new course. With a strong sense of history and tradition behind us, the modern day crew of the battleship Missouri turns to the task of charting that course through commitment, flexibility and endurance; charting a new course as a modernized weapons platform steaming into the 21st century . . .