

Her colorful history has endeared the vessel to generations of Americans and today, she stands as a symbol of peacekeeper, keeping an ever watchful eye over her fallen comrades at Pearl Harbor. She was brought back out of retirement in the latter years of the Cold War, modernized with cruise missile capabilities and advanced technology before be decommissioned for good and set up as a floating museum for all to enjoy, self-educate and offer remembrance to those that have led the way. The Missouri is perhaps best known for her participation in the surrender ceremony of the Empire of Japan at Tokyo Bay to conclude World War 2 in 1945. As such, the vessel served as a battletested learning ground for generations of American sailors that produced grandfathers, fathers and sons that had all served on the same ship. Few can lay claim to having fought in three of the major American engagements of the 20th Century, taking part in World War 2 (Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Guam), the Korean War and the Gulf War before she was retired. The USS Missouri (BB-63) is one of the most storied American warships ever constructed.
