My Father served aboard the battleship USS Mississippi (BB 41) The stories he had told me when I was a young boy was facinating. They supported the Marine landings on the island of Peleliu, the liberations of the Philippines, shelling the east coast of Leyte Gulf and supporting the landings of General Douglas MacArthur’s troops, then destroying a mighty Japanese task force at the mouth of Surigao Straight which to this day remains the largest naval battle in history. The Mississippi was hit by kamikaze's twice, once in the Philippines and again while shelling Shuri Castle on Okinawa. My Dad's best friend was killed in one of these kamikaze attacks.
The Mississippi was sold for scrap in 1956, but for my dad And the men to whom she was so good never forgot her. All five of my Dad's children recall that the first word he taught us to spell was
M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i., and there is no doubt why.
But did he have to explain to the teachers why it was spelled USS Mississippi BB 41? Just teasing.
Did they try to get some of her deck planking for crew keepsakes before she went to the yard?
God bless him!