A chunk of the battleship USS Missouri’s superstructure is under wraps again as part of a $3 million restoration — the latest as the famous memorial continues its never-ending battle against rust, but more particularly, as the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II looms next year.
The 887-foot Missouri — the last U.S. battleship to be built — was the site of Japan’s unconditional surrender on Sept. 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay.
More than 2,000 sailors and Marines jammed aboard the ship for the ceremony at which Gen. Douglas MacArthur said, “We are gathered here, representatives of the major warring powers, to conclude a solemn agreement whereby peace may be restored.”
World War II was the deadliest conflict in history. Between 50 million and 80 million people are believed to have died.
In late 2018 the 75th Anniversary of World War II Commemoration Act was passed by Congress calling for defense efforts to thank and honor World War II veterans, educate the public about the war, pay tribute to efforts made on the homefront, recognize contributions made by allies and remember Holocaust victims.
For the “Mighty Mo,” that means getting the Pearl Harbor-based battleship shipshape for the big event.
“We’re always battling rust, and this is part of that process,” Michael Carr, president and CEO of the USS Missouri Memorial Association, said of the superstructure project. “These parts of the ship have not been (sand) blasted and painted in 30 years since the ship was recommissioned in the 1980s, so it’s well past time to do it.”
At the same time, “we’re trying to do everything to make the ship look as great and as beautiful and as magnificent as we can to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. … So we’re under kind of the gun to get a lot of stuff done between now and then,” he said.
That includes an ongoing effort to replace the Missouri’s teak deck. Carr said almost all of the main deck will have new teak by the anniversary on Sept. 2, 2020.
Early in 2018 the Missouri completed a $3.5 million renovation of the tallest portion of the superstructure. The new project, expected to be completed in August, focuses on the aft superstructure, standing about 80 feet above the main deck and 100 feet above the waterline.
Approximately 12,000 square feet of steel on the after main battery fire control tower, after stack, yardarm and platforms and other components will be sandblasted, the memorial said. Some 8,000 pounds of steel will be replaced. Five hundred gallons of paint will be used.
The work actually spans nearly half a century of the battleship’s service life. The Missouri fought in three wars — World War II, Korea and Desert Storm in the Gulf War.
Officials said a highlight of the restoration will be the installation of a replica radome used to operate the Missouri’s remotely piloted vehicle and the re-installation of the OE-82 communications antenna.
During the Gulf War, the Missouri launched 27 Tomahawk cruise missiles and hurled 305 16-inch shells at Iraqi forces from its huge deck guns. The Missouri also was fitted with Harpoon missile cannisters.
The rust control work is being conducted in and around the weapons additions that came later in the battleship’s life.
A year from now on May 8, the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day, a warbird flyover is planned in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the end of the war with about 100 aircraft including wartime fighters and bombers.
Carr said plans are still being developed for the Missouri, but in September 2020 “there will be a week’s worth of activities here, both at the battleship Missouri as well as at the (Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum) to honor the end of the war.”
The museum also hopes to re-create with World War II warbirds the military aircraft flyover of the battleship that occurred on Sept. 2, 1945.
Crew members on the ship during the war are being invited to attend. Carr is aware of about 10 still alive and the search is on for others. The Missouri is trying to get the word out through social media and other means.
“Not too many 90-year-olds look at Facebook,” he noted. “But you know, their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren do, and so we’re hoping that by these means we can connect.”
