...my Dad’s ship the U.S.S. Mississippi... My father (Electrician's Mate) was also on the battleship Mississippi , which was anchored in Tokyo Bay when the surrender documents were signed and left very soon thereafter for Norfolk, VA.
My father died in 2002.
My Dad hated Norfolk. Even at the end of WWII when all of the country was welcoming the soldiers and sailors back home as National Heroes, Dad could remember the signs on some lawns in Norfolk that said “dogs and sailors, stay off the grass”. He did LOVE New Orleans, which was another port of call. He always wanted to go back but never did.
He was a Signalman on the Mississippi, and his battle station was a port-side 5 Inch gun.