Pounding Pearl Pavement – The USS Missouri

Climbing on board a specially cleared and authorized trolley, we made the trip across the Ford Island Bridge, onto Ford Island. This is the area of the base where the officers are quartered. There is no photography of any kind permitted while onboard the trolley or on the bridge.

Once over to the dock where the Missouri is moored, cameras are again permitted. The USS Missouri was not at Pearl Harbour during the attack, but was being built in Jan 1941 in New York. However the Missouri was a very important ship, in that the unconditional surrender of Japan, took place on its deck.

The USS Missouri was decommissioned and sat for years in the Navy Yards in Bremerton, Washington. It was brought back into service and refitted for the first Gulf War. It was later again decommissioned and eventually towed to Pearl Harbour as its final mooring place.

The tour of the ship is impressive. It is over 800 feet long and over 100 feet wide and its entire deck is made out of Teak Wood, overtop of steel plate and armour plate. This was done to keep below decks somewhat cooler in the days before air conditioning. It was at one time the flagship of the American fleet. It is no less impressive now, although some of its armaments have been removed. The Nine huge guns are still there though.

Scaling to the very top of the Missouri would leave you twenty stories in the air. However the highest point tourists are permitted is to the flying bridge, which offers a panoramic view of the entire harbor.

Despite the massive size of the ship, crew quarters inside are very cramped. During the Gulf War the ship had 4 bunks stacked atop each other which leaves barely room to roll over. During World War II however, there were up to 7 bunks stacked atop each other.

The ship is attended to by numerous volunteers who are very friendly and informative, and they work hard to keep the ship in good condition. After the ship it was over to the base of the USS Bowfin, which was the last operating diesel powered submarine. There was not enough time to go aboard, but, the commissary there serves some of the best hot dogs around.

After a quick lunch it was on to a quick tour of the Punchbowl National Military cemetery. There is a massive set of stairs, 70 to be exact, one stair for each battle fought in the Pacific in World War II. At the top is a large wall with a statue of an angel, which has been seen numerous times during the opening credits of the old TV cop show, Hawaii Five-O. All in all a very moving and impressive tour.