On November 24, 2012, Troop 97 "camped" overnight on the USS Missouri. The Mighty Mo was still under construction when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. She entered service in 1944, participated in the Battle of Okinawa, and anchored in Tokyo Bay after the US dropped the atomic bomb.
The USS Missouri was selected to host the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. The Mighty Mo also fought in the Korean Conflict and Gulf War.
Today, she is a floating museum, standing guard over the USS Arizona Memorial. The two ships represent the start and end of US participation in WWII.
From the Missouri's deck, we spotted the newest ship at Pearl Harbor - the USS Michael Murphy. The ship is named for the Navy SEAL who gave his life to save his team in Afghanistan.
The Mighty Mo is longer than the Titanic. It was a floating city with almost every function, including a barbershop!
Two scouts landed in the brig!
From the deck, we spotted the Sea Based X Band Radar (SBX) aka the Giant Golf Ball. The radar sits atop a self propelled oil platform. It can track a baseball (or Korean missile) flying across the Pacific.
The sun begins to set over the Wai'anae Mountains ....
... look closely at the Sea Whiz (air defense) on the left. It looks like R2D2!
The Big Guns at sunset ....
... and the Big Guns under the moon!
After dinner, we toured the command center on the upper deck.
The command center was featured in the movie BATTLESHIP.
A sailor would stand behind the status board and write backwards so the commander would see it forward.
Actors from the movie used the command chair (and the telephone above) to call for the last available bomb to fire on the aliens. Our SPL sat in the command chair!
We slept in the original bunks.
But it was worth the experience to see the sun rise over Pearl Harbor.
We took a group photo before we disembarked. To learn more about Troop 97 in Oahu, contact us at T97oahu@gmail.com.
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