USS Missouri
USS Missouri Battleship and Bowfin Submarine
The USS Missouri. She weighs 58,000 tons, is 887′ 3″ long, is 108′ 3″ wide and packs nine 16″ guns. Now nicknamed “MightyMo”, was commissioned in June 1944 and served in World War II and the Korean Conflict. Decommissioned in 1955 and in 1986 the ship was modernized, re-activated and in 1991 deployed in support of the Persian Gulf War. Decommissioned for the second and final time in 1992.
It was on her deck, September 2, 1945, that history was put into writing. The place:TokyoBay, the players: Japan’s Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, General Yoshijiro Umezu, General Douglas Mac Arthur, Admiral Chester Nimitz, plus numerous other military leaders, the event: signing the instruments of surrender thus putting an end to war in the Pacific.
Today, the USS Missouri Memorial Association has selected Pearl Harbor to be the Mighty Mo’s final home. Docked a short distance away from the USS Arizona, she will serve duty as a museum. Admission.
The USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park
The USS Bowfin Submarine is just a few hundred feet to the right of the Arizona Welcome Center. The USS Bowfin, nicknamed the “Pearl Harbor Avenger”, was launched on December 7th 1942, exactly one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. She went on nine successful war patrols during World War II, served in the Korean conflict and was a Naval Reserve training vessel until being decommissioned in 1971. Fully restored, she serves as a memorial to the men who served in the “silent service”. The USS Bowfin Museum, adjacent to the submarine, tells the story of the United States Submarine Force, from its daring beginnings in 1776, to the ultra-modern submarines of today. There is an admission charge to visit the sub.
USS Missouri and Bowfin Submarine – What’s next?
We’ve covered Pearl Harbor, the Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri, and Bowfin Submarine. Next in our series of articles, we’ll have a look at some other points of interest around Pearl Habor and then into the city of Honolulu.
There have been many comments about the erecnt closure of the boat access to the Memorial itself. This boat closure will continue until April 14, 2010, which means visitors cannot go onto the Memorial itself until April 15th. We are grateful to the many visitors that come to Pearl Harbor to pay their respects and apologize that this has been and will be a great disappointment to the many that will come during the closure. When the construction was originally planned, all parties involved thought that the pile driving would not interfere with boat operations. Recent safety reviews of the ongoing work highlighted the potential danger to the public. As safety of visitors is of great concern to the National Park Service, which is in charge of all park operations, it was decided that the dock area should be closed to visitors until the pile driving was finished. Cost and construction time makes building or moving a temporary dock not feasible. We appreciate the public’s patience and understanding during our construction. This is a huge endeavor that takes much time and effort to accomplish but will serve our visitors for generations to come.
Aloha,
I was just at the Arizona Memorial today and the Navy shuttle boat IS running. The last film shows at 15:00 with the last daily boat leaving at the end of the movie. Viva Hawaii
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