Battleship MISSOURI
 

72 years ago today, America's last and most famous battleship entered the water for the first time.

:cheers:

I was privileged to visit "her" while in Hawaii earlier this year. A magnificent ship... and honored to stand where the Japanese were required to sign the unconditional surrender documents to end WWII. During the tour, I heard facts about the surrender that I never heard before...how U.S. forces were standing prepared to bomb Tokyo if the Japanese delegation backed out at the last minute or if there were hostilities initiated by them during the ceremony. Fascinating stories about General MacArthur... If you ever get to Honolulu, don't miss that tour of Pearl Harbor!

I had the pleasure of seeing USS Missouri in Lisboa in November 1986. What a sight.

I toured the Missouri back in 1981 when it was still in Bremerton.
At the time the New Jersey was still beside it.

I also toured the NJ back in '69 or '70 right after it arrived in Washington for decomissioning.
We rode out on in an LCM to get to the ship. I was only 8 years old then but I remember the trip.
(Probably because at some point during the tour I tripped over something on deck and fell down banging my head.)

It was amazing to visit the Missouri years later when I could actually grasp the size of the ship.
That thing is friggin' huge!
As John said, it was really amazing to stand on that historical spot.
I wish they had returned it to Seattle. I know the locals were pretty pissed at losing such an historical tourist attraction.