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USS MISSOURI
The newest addition to the Pearl Harbor memorial site is the 45,000 ton USS Missouri that received its official memorial dedication at Pearl Harbor in January 1999. Moored in the harbor alongside Ford Island, a new bridge connects Ford Island to Kamehameha Highway.
Visitors can climb aboard the 887-foot battleship from bow to stern, or mount the flying bridge which offers a panoramic view of the harbor.
Other areas of interest aboard the Missouri are the ship's Tomahawk Missile Launching System, last used in the Persian Gulf war and her trademark nine 16 inch, big guns, capable of firing a one ton projectile, with pin point accuracy, over 23 miles. Access is also available to the wardroom, officer's quarters, armory, plus a mini-theatre provides a reflective look at the ship's half-century of service spanning three wars.
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The USS Missouri is a 45,000-ton Iowa class battleship built by the New York Navy Yard, and commissioned on 11 June 1944. The Missouri supported the Iwo Jima invasion, the Ryukyus campaign and raids on Japan's home islands. She was the site of the 2 September 1945 Japanese surrender ceremony that ended World War II.
Following the end of hostilities, The Missouri returned to the United States, participating in a great naval review at New York in October 1945. In March 1946, she went to the Mediterranean on a diplomatic mission. Through the rest of the 1940s and into 1950, the battleship operated extensively in the Atlantic area.
For more information contact Hawaiian Holidays.
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| Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial |
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USS Missouri was the only U.S. battleship on active duty in June 1950, when the Korean War began, and made two combat deployments to the Western Pacific. Following that action, and several training cruises to Europe, she decommissioned in February 1955.
The Missouri was recommissioned in May 1986. Her final years were very active, including a world cruise and a combat role in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. She was decommissioned for the last time in March 1992. Visitors can tour the 887-foot battleship including the flying bridge with its panoramic views of Pearl Harbor, the ship's Tomahawk Missile Launching System and her massive nine big guns, the armory, and the officer quarters.
There is a theatre which shows the ship's 50 plus years of service spanning three wars. (Source United States Navy National Archive)
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