[Old Teufel Hunden]

Good stuff. I liked your analogy about the beginning and ending of WWII with the Arizona memorial and the U.S.S. Missouri side by side. I'm sure that is why they probably have the Mizzou there. I got the priviledge of re-enlisting on the Arizona memorial once. Of course it was in the section dedicated to all the Marines that were on board and died that fateful day.

I remember the first time I was out on a float and our battle group was getting an escort for a time from the New Jersey and Missouri. As I looked out over the water at them, what struck me initially was how low they sat in the water. In my minds eye, I had always thought they would be these gigantic ships, but the battleships sat very low in the water so that they have a low profile I imagine.

It was unusual to have both of those battleships together and I got pictures of both of them. At that time both the Iowa and Wisonsin were also in service. All four of the battleships from the Iowa class. Now they are all gone and it was a terrible shame what happened to the U.S.S. Iowa. Not sure if we'll ever know what happened on that fateful day.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Someone on FR mentioned that the Iowa had only been repaired cosmetically but the money for full repairs had been appropriated. She is parked in Siusan Bay, north of San Francisco.
The Navy allowed a suicide story to circulate regarding several members of the crew (who were said to have taken their lives via the explosion) but this was later discounted.
One of the tour guides said that on one occasion, men were allowed out on the deck of the Missouri when the 16 inch guns were firing. That was the last time.