USS Missouri BB-63

In 1978, my family was on an extended trip to the Pacific Northwest. When we arrived in downtown Seattle there was a simple sign on a pole pointing to the ferry terminal that read, “USS Missouri BB-63 – Bremerton Ferry.”

On my shelf at home, were several models of the great battleship. One of which had earned several awards and was my pride and joy. Needless to say, we did not stay long in Seattle and quickly boarded the ferry to Bremerton.

She was everything I ever imagined her to be. Huge. Beautiful. and nestled gently among a whole set of decommissioned Naval vessels that was something akin to heaven to me.

Over the next years I would visit her many, many, many times. And then, one day, she was gone. The Navy was recommissioning her and while she would eventually return for a short while, Bremerton would never truly be her home again.

All those times I walked her deck are a part of the sailor I would go on to become. With the exception of my own ship, USS Michigan SSBN-727, Missouri remains one of my favorite warships.

But her finest day was September 2, 1945, when she was chosen to receive the dignitaries from the Allies and the Imperial Japanese. There, the document that at last ended World War II was signed.