USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)

USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) arriving at Naval Station Norfolk

Sailors and Marines man the rail as three harbor tugs push the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) away from Pier 11 at Norfolk Naval Base on Oct. 3, 1997, for a scheduled six-month deployment. The George Washington will relieve the USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) to conduct operations in the Mediterranean Sea. DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Vickers, U.S. Navy.

Source:

http://www.defense.gov

USS Constitution, nicknamed “Old Ironsides”

USS Constitution, nicknamed “Old Ironsides”, is the only surviving vessel of the original six frigates authorized by Congress in the Naval Act of 1794, which established the United States Navy. It served with distinction in the War of 1812 and is currently docked in Charlestown, Massachusetts, as the oldest commissioned warship afloat.

USS Missouri (BB-11)

USS Missouri (BB-11)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

USS Missouri (BB-11), a Maine-class battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 24th state.

Missouri was laid down on 7 February 1900 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company of Newport News, Virginia. She was launched on 28 December 1901 sponsored by Mrs. Edson Galludet, daughter of United States Senator Francis Marion Cockrell of Missouri, and commissioned on 1 December 1903, Captain William S. Cowles in command.

Missouri lying at anchor

Pre-World War I

Assigned to the North Atlantic Fleet, Missouri left Norfolk, Virginia on 4 February 1904 for trials off the Virginia Capes and fleet operations in the Caribbean Sea. On 13 April, during target practice, a flareback from the port gun in her after turret ignited a powder charge and set off two others. No explosion occurred but the rapid burning of the powder suffocated 36 of the crew. Prompt action prevented the loss of the warship and three of her crew earned Medals of Honor for extraordinary heroism. After repairs at Newport News, Missouri sailed on 9 June for duty in the Mediterranean Sea from which she returned to New York on 17 December.

Fleet operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean during the next years were highlighted by her relief to earthquake victims at Kingston, Jamaica from 17–19 January 1907. In April, she took part in the Jamestown Exposition.

With the “Great White Fleet“, Missouri sailed from Hampton Roads on 16 December 1907, passing in review before President Theodore Roosevelt at the beginning of a world cruise, which was to show the world that American naval might could penetrate any waters. Calling at ports in the Caribbean and along the east coast of South America, the fleet rounded Cape Horn to call in Peru and Mexico before arriving at San Francisco, California on 6 May 1908 for a gala visit. In July, the fleet turned west for Honolulu, Hawaii, thence to New Zealand and Australia, arriving in Manila on 2 October. The most tumultuous welcome yet came in Yokohama, Japan, and with a call in Amoy, China, the fleet began the passage home by way of Ceylon, Suez, and ports in the eastern Mediterranean. Departing Gibraltar on 6 February 1909, the fleet was again reviewed by President Roosevelt upon its triumphant return to Hampton Roads on 22 February.

*** Four ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Missouri in honor of the state of Missouri:

• USS Missouri (1841), a sidewheel frigate launched in 1841 and destroyed by fire in August 1843
• USS Missouri (BB-11), a Maine class battleship in service from 1900 to 1922.
• USS Missouri (BB-63), an Iowa class battleship in service from 1944 to 1998; site of the official Japanese surrender of World War II; decommissioned in 1998; now a floating war memorial at Naval Base Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
• USS Missouri (SSN-780), a Virginia class submarine commissioned in 2010

See also

• SS Missouri, several merchant ships with this name

For other ships of the same name, see USS Missouri

USS MISSOURI – F4U’s F6F’s fly in formation September 2, 1945 Navy

F4U’s F6F’s fly in formation during surrender ceremonies; Tokyo, Japan.  USS MISSOURI (in) left foreground.  September 2, 1945. (Navy)
NARA FILE #:  080-G-421130
WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #:  1370

USS Missouri (BB-63) (“Mighty Mo” or “Big Mo“) is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the third ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the US state of Missouri. Missouri was the last battleship built by the United States, and was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II.

Missouri was ordered in 1940 and commissioned in June 1944. In the Pacific Theater of World War II she fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands, and she fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. She was decommissioned in 1955 into the United States Navy reserve fleets (the “Mothball Fleet”), but reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan, and provided fire support during Operation Desert Storm in January/February 1991.

Missouri received a total of 11 battle stars for service in World War II, Korea, and the Persian Gulf, and was finally decommissioned on 31 March 1992, but remained on the Naval Vessel Register until her name was struck in January 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

USS Missouri

Huge formation of American planes over USS Missouri and Tokyo Bay celebrating the signing, 2 September 1945

William Pelham Civil War (Medal of Honor)

William R. Pelham (December 24, 1845 or December 8, 1847 – March 30, 1933^[1]) was a Union Navy sailor during the American Civil War and a recipient of the United States military‘s highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and Organization: Landsman, U.S. Navy. Born: Halifax, Nova Scotia. Enlisted in: Nova Scotia. G.O. No.: 45, December 31, 1864.

Citation:

On board the flagship U.S.S. Hartford during successful actions against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats and the ram CSS Tennessee (1863) in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. When the other members of his guncrew were killed or wounded under the enemy’s terrific shellfire, Pelham calmly assisted the casualties below and voluntarily returned and took his place at an adjoining gun where another man had been struck down. He continued to fight his gun throughout the remainder of the battle which resulted in the capture of the Tennessee.^[3]

USS Augusta Normandy Invasion

Senior officers aboard the USS Augusta during the Normandy Invasion. Second from the left is Lieutenant General Omar Bradley.