The FReeper Foxhole Revisits - USS Missouri & USS Arizona Memorial with CholeraJoe - Sept. 2nd, 2005

see educational sources | originally posted at the Foxhole Feb. 29th, 2004 | Cholera Joe and others

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

USS Missouri joins Arizona on 'Battleship Row'


New home for 'Mighty Mo'

March 7 1999

HONOLULU -- The USS Arizona -- sitting solitary, silent and hallowed on Battleship Row for almost 60 years -- is not alone anymore.



The battered ship, resting on the bottom of Pearl Harbor, has become a national symbol, the sunken memorial to the Americans who died during the Japanese attack on Oahu and Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. It is the most sacred U.S. Navy monument on Earth, the final grave for the 1,177 sailors and Marines who perished aboard during the attack.



Now, anchored near the Arizona is the USS Missouri, the second most-famous battleship of World War II, official designation BB-63.

Like the Arizona, the Missouri sits next to a pier at Ford Island in the middle of Pearl Harbor. For the "Mighty Mo" -- the ship's famous nickname -- a berth in Pearl Harbor marks the end of an illustrious career that spanned more than a half-century and service in three wars.



Today, the Missouri's huge 16-inch guns are silent, pointing symbolically toward the Arizona. It is poetic that these two U.S. warships should end up next to each other. The Arizona was sunk at the beginning of the U.S.-Japanese conflict, and it was aboard the Missouri that the Japanese signed the formal surrender ending World War II four years later.



On Jan. 29, in ceremonies aboard ship, the Missouri was officially opened to the public as a floating museum -- 55 years to the day after it was launched. Along with the Arizona and the other Navy relic of the war anchored at Pearl Harbor -- the submarine Bowfin -- the Missouri is fated to become part of one of the major tourist attractions in Hawaii.



It was a long voyage from Brooklyn, where the Missouri was built, to Pearl Harbor, half an Earth away. The Mighty Mo was the last battleship launched by the United States, entering service in 1944. It was christened by Margaret Truman, the daughter of the newly elected vice president, Harry Truman, a former U.S. senator from Missouri. After going through the Panama Canal to the Pacific, it was involved in the invasions of Okinawa and Iwo Jima and attacks on the Japanese homeland.



On Sept. 2, 1945, a month after the U.S. atomic attacks at Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the Japanese formally surrendered aboard the Missouri. The site of that ceremony -- now called the "Surrender Deck" -- is marked by permanent plaques and is a major stop on public tours of the ship. (An elevator has been installed to allow wheelchair access to the Surrender Deck and other areas of the ship.)



The end of World War II also saw the end of the "Battleship Age" and the beginning of the "Carrier Age," meaning the demise of most of the Navy's battleships.

Most were scrapped, a few were mothballed, some were used as targets for U.S. atomic tests. Among those saved -- just in case of future need -- were the Missouri and its sister ships -- the New Jersey, the Iowa and the Wisconsin.

By 1950, the Missouri was the only U.S. battleship on active duty, and in September of that year was involved in the invasion of Inchon at the beginning of the Korean War. Later, the other three Iowa-class ships were also called back for the war.



In 1955, the Missouri was decommissioned and put into the mothball fleet at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Wash. While there, it was visited by as many as 180,000 tourists a year.

There it sat until 1986, when the Navy (and President Ronald Reagan) decided to create a 600-ship navy and recommissioned the Missouri and several other battleships. The recommissioning ceremonies took place in San Francisco on May 10, 1986.

San Francisco desperately wanted the Missouri home-ported at Hunters Point, but in the end, the ship ended up at Long Beach.

In 1990, after Iraq invaded Kuwait, the Missouri -- along with the Wisconsin -- was sent to the Persian Gulf. Near the beginning of the hostilities -- Jan. 17, 1991 -- the Missouri fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iraqi targets, and in February, fired its 16-inch guns for the first time since Korea.



The Mighty Mo fired its weapons in anger for the last time at targets in Ra's al Khafji, Saudi Arabia, occupied by the Iraqis. The ship fired 209 rounds from its 16-inch guns, which are capable of sending a 2,000-pound shell 23 miles.

The Missouri was decommissioned again in 1992. A number of U.S. cities wanted to claim the battleship, but in the end, the Navy donated it to the USS Missouri Memorial Association in Honolulu in 1998.

There has been some resistance to putting the Missouri near the Arizona, with some veterans and Navy personnel feeling that the Arizona, as a sacred site, should not share honors on Battleship Row with another ship, no matter how famous. (The name "Battleship Row" came about because the Navy's World War II Pacific-based battleships were normally lined up in rows along Ford Island -- where the Japanese found them tightly packed during the attack.)



The Missouri sits about 300 yards from the Arizona. The Navy has given permission for the ship to remain there for three years, when it will be moved to another spot farther away, but still next to Ford Island.

The official Navy position is more congenial, noting that the Missouri, in conjunction with the Bowfin and the Arizona, is part of a rich historical experience.

For their part, Missouri supporters are hoping that in the end, given what is expected to be intense public interest, the Navy will leave the Missouri where it is.



"Look at the big guns," Tom Pinet, the Missouri's tour program manager, said. "The way they point, they're symbolically protecting the Arizona. The last thing we want in the world is to turn this into Disneyland. We all respect the Arizona."

The U.S. Park Service, which is in charge of the Arizona Memorial, is upbeat about the Missouri's arrival.

In a news release issued before the opening ceremonies, the Park Service noted that "each of the three (ships) are coming together to service a single critical purpose -- to sustain the rich history of this very special place -- the living history of Pearl Harbor."

Copyright © 2004, Knight-Ridder/Tribune (KRT)

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

.......

CholeraJoe's Vacation



During my visit to Hawaii, I thought it would be nice to visit the USS Arizona memorial again as I had 18 years ago.



Much to my surprise, the USS Missouri was now on static display not far from the sunken hull of the Arizona. How ironic that the ship where the War with Japan began and the ship where it ended were less than 1000 yards apart. The Arizona Memorial is very solemn and moving. The US Park Service operates it and there was about a 2 hour wait before I could get on the boat to ride out to Ford Island to actually see the memorial.



One of the Arizona's gun turrets (I thank they call it a barbette) protrudes above the water at low tide. You can see the outline of the ship through the clear water.





The Missouri is operated and funded entirely by private donations and admission fees ($16). It is on display in fighting condition just as it was during the first Gulf War when it fired its 16 inch guns and Tomahawk cruise missiles on positions in Kuwait.



The Surrender deck where Japan's formal surrender was signed is very nice.



The have a bronze plaque on the deck in the actual spot where the surrender was signed as well as the actual surrender documents on display.







The Mess facility, called the Truman line for President Truman (from Missouri; his daughter Margaret christened the ship) still functions as a snack bar.



The standard tour includes tours of the bridge, the weather deck, 5 inch gun turrets, Officers mess and cabins and the Tomahawk launchers.



There was a deluxe tour that I didn't take where they put you in hard hats and safety vests and take you everywhere including the engine room and 16 inch gun turrets.



All in all, a very moving experience and well worth it. It takes an entire day to do both tours.

cj

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CholeraJoe, thank you for sharing your pictures and memories with the Foxhole.
SAMWolf, thanks for your help putting this thread together. :-)

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:
www.ussmissouri.com
www.navy.mil
News item from;http://new.blackvoices.com/travel/sns-hawaii-pearlharbor-ussmissouri-home.story
Freeper CholeraJoe

[snippy_about_it]

From Tragedy to Victory

The symbolism is undeniable. On one end is the USS Arizona Memorial, a few hundred yards away is the USS Missouri. These two battleships, at rest in Pearl Harbor, represent the beginning and the end of WWII.

The USS Arizona (BB-39), is the symbol of the start of America’s war in the Pacific. On December 7th, 1941, she was torn apart by an armor-piercing bomb in Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. In less than 9 minutes the magnificent battleship sank, entombing more than 900 servicemen.

In 1945, aboard the deck of the USS Missouri (BB-63), General Douglas MacArthur, along with Japanese dignitaries solemnly signed the treaty of surrender ending WWII. The USS Missouri (nicknamed “Mighty Mo”) continued to serve her country in two other wars.

The USS Missouri and the USS Arizona – One proudly afloat, the other tragically below the calm waters of the Pacific Ocean. One cannot fail to be deeply moved by their historic significance and emotional symbolism.

[snippy_about_it]

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[snippy_about_it]

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Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization.

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Thanks to quietolong for providing this link.

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We here at Blue Stars For A Safe Return are working hard to honor all of our military, past and present, and their families. Inlcuding the veterans, and POW/MIA's. I feel that not enough is done to recognize the past efforts of the veterans, and remember those who have never been found.

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NOW UPDATED THROUGH JULY 31st, 2004




The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

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[alfa6]

24,300 lbs of AP Steel on target Bump for the Freeper Foxhole.

Last night for 18 days

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Diver Dave]

In 1955, the Missouri was decommissioned and put into the mothball fleet at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Wash. While there, it was visited by as many as 180,000 tourists a year.

Thanks for the tour.

It was in 1956 as a lad of 11 years, I won a trip to Seattle as a reward for selling subscriptions to our newspaper, The Spokane Daily Chronicle. It was a three day trip and included a ferry ride to Bremerton and a tour of the USS MISSOURI (BB-63). Not knowing any better, I stood on the plaque designating the surrender spot.

Don't know if I'll ever make it back to Hawaii to take the tour.

On a related note, the USS IOWA is currently moored in the San Francisco Bay. Our goofy neighbors to the west in San Francisco, through their elected Board of Supervisors, have vetoed the plan to place the IOWA in a place of honor alongside a pier and open it to the public.

Sooooo, it looks like the City of Stockton (California) has launched a campaign to host the IOWA. I'm all for it. That will place it only 35-40 miles away. Cool! (Never have liked going over to the city that much). Looking forward to walking across a brow again and offering up a salute to the OOD and Old Glory.

[Iris7]

I pretty close to believe that the young lads on Arizona find in Missouri some comfort. It is a reminder of their Victory. And of Vengeance completed.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[GailA]

Good morning Snippy, Sam and every one.

[The Mayor]

September 2, 2005

Check Your Blind Spots

Read:
Deuteronomy 6:1-9

These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. —Deuteronomy 6:6

Bible In One Year: 2 Chronicles 7-9

When I was in high school, I had a driving instructor who gave me some sound advice. "You think by looking in the rearview mirror you know what is on your left side, but your vision is limited," he said. "Always look over your shoulder before changing lanes. There may be another car in your blind spot." His wise instruction has kept me out of more potential wrecks than I care to think about.

Moses had some wise instruction for the people of Israel. They were to make the study and contemplation of God's commandments an integral part of life. Moses said, "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up" (Deuteronomy 6:7). In short, God's words were to permeate every aspect of their lives.

The Bible is our instruction manual from God for navigating life's journey. But merely owning a copy is not enough. It must be studied, applied, and passed on to others.

Just as checking our blind spot should become an automatic response while we drive, applying God's Word should be our natural response as we encounter the hazards of life. It will help us avoid a spiritual crash. —Dennis Fisher

The Bible will transform our lives
And turn us from our sin,
If we will read it and obey
God's principles within. —Sper

The Bible will tell you what is wrong before you have done it! —Moody

FOR FURTHER STUDY
Can I Really Trust The Bible?

[texianyankee]

Good Friday morning, snippy and to all. Thank you for this great thread on the USS Missouri and thanks to CholeraJoe for sharing his tour with us! Last, but not least, thanks to our veterans and to our active duty troops.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on September 02:
1661 Georg Bohm German organist/composer
1837 James Harrison Wilson, Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1925
1838 Queen Lydia Kamekeha Liliuokalani last queen of Hawaii (1891-93)
1839 Henry George land reformer/writer (Progress & Poverty)
1850 Albert Spaulding baseball player/founded Spaulding sports company
1853 Wilhelm Ostwald Germany, physical chemist (Nobel 1909)
1856 Yang Hsiu-ch'ing commander in chief of the Taiping Rebellion
1866 Hiram Johnson (Gov-Progressive-Cal)
1884 Frank Laubach Benton Pa, educator, taught reading through phonetics
1901 Adolph Rupp, basketball coach at the University of Kentucky who achieved a record 876 victories.
1917 Cleveland Amory Nahant Mass, conservationist/TV reviewer (TV Guide)
1918 Allen Drury author (Advise & Consent-1960 Pulitzer Prize)
1918 Martha Mitchell wife of Attorney General John Mitchell
1919 Marge Champion LA Calif, dancer (Marge & Gower Champion Show)
1936 Joan Kennedy 1st wife of Mass Senator, Ted
1937 Peter Ueberroth organized 1984 LA Olympics/baseball commissioner
1940 Jimmy Clanton Baton Rogue, La, rock vocalist (Just a Dream)
1943 Rosalind Ashford Detroit,vocalist (Martha Reeve & Vandellas)
1944 Claude Nicollier Vevey Switzerland, astronaut (STS 61-K, sk: 46)
1948 Sharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe teacher/astronaut (Challenger)
1948 Terry Bradshaw NFL QB (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1951 Mark Harmon Burbank Calif, actor (Dr Caldwell-St Elsewhere)
1951 Michael Gray Chicago Ill, actor (Ronnie-Brian Keith Show)
1952 Jimmy Connors tennis brat (US Open-78,82,83 Wimbledon-74,82)
1964 Keanu Reeves actor (Speed)

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Deaths which occurred on September 02:
1384 Louis I, duke of Anjou/king of Naples (Battle of Poitiers)
1547 Hernan Cortes Spanish general defeated Aztec Indians
1862 Thornton F Brodhead, US lawyer/politician/brig-general, dies at 40
1937 Baron Pierre de Coubertin revivor of Olympics, dies at 74
1964 Francisco H Craveiro Lopes, Portuguese gen/pres (1951-58), dies at 70
1964 Morris Ankrum, actor (Kronos, Earth vs Flying Saucers), dies at 67
1969 President Ho Chi Minh of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam dies of a heart attack
1970 Allan Walker actor/writer (Red Buttons Show), dies at 64
1973 J R R Tolkien, British story writer (Farmer Giles of Ham)
1982 Jay Novello actor, dies of cancer at 78
1994 Richard M Major, US anti-terror specialist (CIA Red Book), dies at 72
1997 Viktor Frankl, psychotherapist (Man's Search for Meaning), dies at 92

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Take A Moment To Remember
GWOT Casualties

Iraq
02-Sep-2003 1 | US: 1 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Private 1st Class Christopher A. Sisson Camp Dogwood (S. of Baghdad) - Babil Non-hostile - helicopter crash


Afghanistan
A GOOD DAY


http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
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Go here and I'll stop nagging.
http://soldiersangels.org/heroes/index.php

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On this day...
0031 BC Battle of Actium; Octavian defeats Antony, becomes Emp Augustus
0911 Viking monarch Oleg of Kiev, signs treaty with Byzantines
1192 Sultan Saladin (Salah ed Din) & King Richard I "Coeur-de-Lion" sign cease fire
1620 The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth with 102 Pilgrims.
1732 Pope Clement XII renews anti-Jewish laws of Rome
1752 Last day of Julian calendar in Britain, British colonies
1789 US Treasury Department established by Congress
1792 Paris masses remove nobles/clergymen from jails and slaughter them
1859 Gas lighting introduced to Hawaii
1864 Union General William T Sherman captures Atlanta
(Anyone got a match?)
1870 Napoleon III surrenders to Prussian armies
1894 Forest fires destroy Hinckley Minnesota: about 600 die
1898 Lord Kitchener retakes Sudan for Britain
1898 Machine gun 1st used in battle
1901 VP Theodore Roosevelt advises, "Speak softly & carry a big stick"
1919 Communist Party of America organized in Chicago
1922 Pres Ebert declares "Deutschland uber alas" as German national anthem
1927 Rumour starts that Yankee Lou Gehrig will be traded to Tigers
1930 1st non-stop airplane flight from Europe to US (37 hrs)

1935 A hurricane slams the Florida Keys killing 423

1936 1st transatlantic round-trip air flight
1940 Great Smoky Mountains National Park dedicated
1941 Academy copyrights Oscar statuette
1944 Anne Frank (Diary of Anne Frank), is sent to Auschwitz
1944 During WW II, George Bush ejects from a burning plane
1945 Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam independence from France (National Day)



1945 V-J Day; formal surrender of Japan aboard USS Missouri (WWII ends)



1946 Johnny Neun replaces Bill Dickey as Yankee manager
1949 Fire in riverfront area kills 1,700 (Chungking China)
1954 Hurricane Edna batters NE US, killing 20
1957 Milwaukee Braves' Frank Torre scores 6 runs in 1 game
1956 Tennessee National Guardsmen halt rioters protesting the admission of 12 African-Americans to schools in Clinton.
1963 Alabama Gov George C Wallace prevents integration of Tuskegee HS
1963 CBS & NBC expand network news from 15 to 30 minutes
1964 Norman Manley scores 2-consecutive holes-in-one at Del Valley, Cal
1971 Cesar Cedeno hits an inside-the-park grand slammer
1978 Graham Salmon set the worlds record for 100 meters by a blind man
1978 John McClain performs 180 outside loops in an airplane over Houston
1983 Yitzhak Shamir (Herut) endorsed by Menachem Begin for Israelli PM
1986 Cathy Evelyn Smith sentenced to 3 years for death of John Belushi
1987 Donald Trump takes out a full page NY Times ad lambasting Japan
1987 Kevin Bass is 1st NLer to switch hit HRs in a game twice in 1 season
1987 West German pilot Mathias Rust, who flew a private plane from Helsinki Finland, to Moscow's Red Square, goes on trial in Russia
1989 Rev Al Sharpton leads a civil rights march through Bensonhurst
1991 Jerry Lewis' 26th Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $45 Million
1999 Genetic experts report that Chardonnay and 15 other varietal wines have resulted from a coupling between Pinot and Gouais blanc grapes
2003 Locust plague, (Oedaleus decorus asiaticus), destroys some 47 million acres of Mongolian grasslands.
2004 Egypt's antiquities chief reveals a 2,500-year-old hidden tomb under the shadow of one of Giza's three giant pyramids.
2004 One policeman was killed and three others wounded in clashes with terrorists in a town northeast of Riyadh Saudi Arabia

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Vietnam : Independence Day (1945)
USA : National Sleepwalking Day.
International Gay Square Dance Month
National Spanish Green Olive Week (Day 5)
National Religious Reference Books Week (Day 5)
Victory in Japan Day (V-J Day)
Bourbon Month

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Religious Observances
Luth : Commemoration of Bp Nikolai Grundtvig, renewer of the Church
Old Catholic : Feast of St Stephen, 1st King of Hungary
Christian : Feast of St William, English bishop, apostle to Danes
RC : Commem of Bl Andre Grasset, Canadian Holy Cross brother
Saint Agricola of Avignon Feast Day
Ang : Feast of the martyrs of New Guinea

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Religious History
1758 The first Anglican service of worship to be held on Canadian soil was led by Rev. Robert Wolfall at Frobisher Bay, on Baffin Island.
1784 English clergyman Thomas Coke, 37, was consecrated, the first "bishop" of the Methodist Episcopal Church, by founder John Wesley. Coke afterward journeyed to America, where he and Francis Asbury oversaw Methodism in the Colonies.
1930 While a missionary in the Philippines, American linguistic pioneer Frank Laubach wrote in a letter: 'God is always awaiting the chance to give us high days. We so seldom are in deep earnest about giving him his chance.'
1949 English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.'
1973 Death of J.R.R. Tolkien, 81, English Christian language scholar and novelist. His 1954-55 "Lord of the Rings" trilogy describes a war between good and evil in which evil is routed through courage and sacrifice.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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German woman torches house trying to kill spiders
(HOME SAFETY ALERT! HOME SAFETY ALERT! HOME SAFETY ALERT!)

02 September 2005

BERLIN: A German woman laid waste to her family home by setting fire to it as she tried to kill spiders in a garage with a can of hairspray and a cigarette lighter.
Police in the western town of Zuelpich said that when the aerosol failed to finish them off, the 34-year-old woman tried to burn them with the lighter. However, this set the area she had just sprayed on fire and the blaze spread to a hedge.

"It was a series of unfortunate events which led to the damage," a police spokesman said.
"She tried to put the fire out with a garden hose, but couldn't. Instead her semi-detached house next to the hedge caught fire. It's now uninhabitable."

Fire-fighters managed to extinguish the blaze and save the neighbouring house, which sustained broken windows and some charring. The spokesman estimated the total cost of the damage at well over 100,000 euros. No one was hurt.

"The family have had to look for somewhere else to stay," he said. "The spiders are gone though – that problem was solved."

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Thought for the day :
"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him."
J. R. R. Tolkien

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-Gram.

Garron Lenaz recovers an American flag from the rubble in front of his home in Gulfport, Miss., after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.
Prayers up for the hurricane survivors.

[Professional Engineer]

Hi miss Feather.

It's Friday!

[stand watie]

GM, snippy, et.al.

free dixie HUGS,sw

[Valin]

We will prevail!
Great F-O-G.

[Iris7]

That story of the German woman and the spiders is great. Thanks for posting it.

[Wneighbor]

Good morning. :-)

[Soaring Feather]

Hello, Wneighbor,how goes it??