USS Missouri - Part 1

The USS Missouri is an Iowa-class battleship of the US Navy, the 4th such ship to carry that name. Also known as "The Mighty Mo", it is 887 feet long and 108 feet wide.

On both of my previous visits to Honolulu I had visited the nearby USS Arizona Memorial but this time I wanted to visit the Missouri. I arrived at Pearl Harbor a little before 9:00am and was on the first shuttle bus to be taken over to the ship.


The USS Arizona Memorial is right beside the Missouri, and represents America's entrance into World War 2, when Japanese airplanes attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Initially I just paid $16 for the self-guided tour. But then after I got off the shuttle bus I opted to pay $7 more for a guided tour. It was a wise investment, as you'll soon learn.


There were a large number of Japanese tourists visiting the Missouri. I imagine this is because of its historical significance to the path of their country, which I'll explain later.


Originally I was supposed to be on a small tour with a few other civilians but when I walked over to the gathering area I was welcomed onto a special tour for US Navy personnel and their families by our tour guide, Marc.
Here's a future sailor. She was the daughter of one of the US sailors on our tour.
Here's our group walking up the staircase to get onto the ship. Note the different uniforms, though all were in the Navy.