Missouri (BB 63) - Naval Cruise Book

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X' I t ig Xl 2.1: I 6 v ' ,. 1. ' xiii' A 'I it-Q Q' OT- 43 USS MISSOURI ll-U X f'fl5lIl1l'lV. I'Vcirtln'rgcr. Sl'f'l't'llll'I1UfIJt'Ic Vl5t', t1tI1IIe'sst's flu- 'tw - -- ! wrt lviitt ist will it-frm-ss tlicsecortrl COHIHIISSIOIIIIIQQfMISSOlLVI. tire support missions, including the lnchon invasion. Pcacctimc returned the ship to a routine oftraining, upkeep and Midship- matn cruises, which carried her almost halfa million miles by her tenth annivere sary ol' uninterrupted active service. Norlolk. Virginia, Missouri's homcport since September. 1946, bid the battleship goodbye in August, 1954. as her sister ship USS Iowa rendered honors across pier 7. Following a 12-hour transit of the Panama 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 a fond farewell to Mighty Mof Guns silent, engines stilled. bleached teakwood decks turning gray. USS Missouri spent three decades moored in Bremerton. Washington. Never forgotten by the public. more than 180,000 people paid their respects each year to the valiant lady at rest as part of the reserve fleet. In May, 1984, the sleeping giant once .igaut lie,u'd the txill to .iruis The I'ntted States Nut was retyilliiig its dre.tdnoughts tot' uioderiitf.ition and upd.iting. lheseweapotispl.itt'omtswere needed tor .ui expanded titlttlesliip Naxy to lead battle groups .ind help establish the l'.S. iiatuil presence around the globe. Nlay 10. 1986 ISS Missouri is recouunissionerI in San Francisco. This is .i day to celebrate the rebirth ol' .Xnierican sea power. said tlicn-Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger to an audience of 10.000 witnessing the histone ceremony. Ile admonished the crew to 'Listen for the footsteps of those who have gone before you. They speak to you of honor and the importance ofduty. They remind you of your oxni traditions' Four months later. our nations most historic battleship departs her new horneport of Long Beach for an around- the-world-cruise. bringing her message of Strength for Freedom' to eight na- tions: Australia. Diego Garcia. Egvpt, Turkey. Italy. Spain. Portugal and Panama. On July 25. 1987. the crew of Missouri was ordered for duty in the troubled waters ofthe Persian Gulf and departed on a six-month deployment to the Indian Ocean and North Arabian Sea. The ship spent more than 100 continuous days at in a hot, tense environment which posed a striking con- trast to the World Cruise months earlier. As the centerpiece for Battlegroup Echo, Missouri steamed into the volatile oper- ating arena and maintained a level of peace in the Middle East which remained fragile and vital. Missouri retumed to the United States via Diego Garcia, Australia and Hawaii in early 1988. Several months later. Missouri's crew again retumed to Hawaiian waters for the Rim of the Pa- cific l'RimPac l exercises involving more than 50,000 members of the Armed Forces and ships from the navies of Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. Port visits in 1988 included Vancouver and Victoria Island in Canada, San Diego, Seattle and Bremerton. 1989 was a hectic year in the life of Battleship Missouri. The early part of the year found the ship in the Long 51'

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liteach Naval Shipyard for routine main- lc-nzmr-e. lnclepcndencc Day weekend lirouglit il s share ol' fireworks. Academy Al.V21I'll'Jl.VlIlf'llI'lQ actressfsinger Cher insult' a rock music video on Missourfs lfw's'l1:, wliirrli sizirrt-d at couple hundred lIll'llllJl'I 5 nl' Ihr: crew. The video. al- Ilunngli l'flIllI'UVl'I'Sl2ll due to Chefs out- lll, was ni smzisli, :incl the song Ill Could 'l urn llzwk 'l'i1iif- wz1sat'l1ar'I topper. A lt-w mmillis lam-r. Nlissouri and crew ll1'll2ll'l4'fl lor l'zu'llic' li:-:crm-ise l l'aclix j 'H?l, wlilrili lmuirl Missouri and lier sister ship HSS Nc-tn .ltvrsvy IJ1'l lV0l'IlllIlQ at si- multaneous gunfire demonstration for the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Nimitz. The highlight of PacEX was a port visit in Pusan, Republic of Korea. With the advent of a new decade, 1990 had Missouri doing a repeat of the RirnPac Exercise with ships from Aus- tralia. Canada, Japan and Korea in addi- tion to United States Navy ships. On August 2, 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny ernir- ate of Kuwait. ln the middle of the month. President George Bush sent the first ofseveral hundred thousand troops, along with a strong force of naval S port to Saudi Arabia and the Persllp. Gulf area to support a multi-natio force in a standoff with the Iraqi dictaflal A scheduled four-month Western Pacifif. port-to-port cruise for September Wit cancelled just a few days before the sh? was to leave. Missouri was put on hols, in anticipation of being called to Suppori the still- growing force in the Middle East The word came. Missouri would depart in mid-November for the Persian Gulf. ian So begins our story,,, i FYI titzrzg It-Sgr-5: X -Lo ,LLQQOLLH P1515 panicpaled in V 5 l l l l 12 - A- . - U55 NW' Jf 'Sf'u 513159621 and USS Mlssowl 'MW 'm'wS5f0'l Qfsltilvs nt-ur Olcinawa dufillg thepac -. E-Yf'I'r'isc' in 151940