Weighing 60,000 tons, with a bow-to-stern length of 885 feet, the USS Missouri is an interactive museum and memorial at Pearl Harbor. The ship was released by the Navy and opened to the public in 1999 as a tribute to its historic significance. This is the vessel upon which the Japanese signed the terms of surrender, ending World War II on September 2, 1945.
The "Mighty Mo'' was launched from the New York Naval Shipyard in 1944. As the fourth and last Iowa-class battleship built for World War II, it earned three battle stars in that conflict and five more during the Korean War. It also served with distinction in the Gulf War, making it one of the most decorated ships in U.S. military history when it was decommissioned in 1992.
USS Missouri Memorial Association in Honolulu received the Missouri in 1998 and moored it off Ford Island in the vicinity of two other attractions: the remains of the USS Utah and the USS Arizona Memorial. This area of Pearl Harbor has subsequently become known as "Battleship Row.''
Visitors interested in touring the USS Missouri must obtain tickets and board a special shuttle at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park. It is located on the Pearl Harbor coast, just off Kamehameha Highway, two miles west of Honolulu International Airport. General admission is $16 for adults and $8 for children. Military and kama'aina (local resident) rates apply with photo ID. Special rates for school and non-profit groups are also available when reservations are made in advance.
Basic tours may be either guided or unguided. They take about one hour and begin with a shuttle ride across Ford Island Bridge. Retired military veterans and volunteers act as group guides, introducing the ship's layout, systems and weapons as well as providing a narrative history of the vessel.
Visitors are permitted to enter not only the ship's decks, brig, and engine rooms, but also the Missouri's Combat Engagement Center. Winding their way through the ship, groups invariably make a stop to take in the panoramic view from the Flag Bridge, too. This is where Admiral Frederick Halsey stood in command as World War II drew to a close.
A few areas of the battleship are off limits to those unaccompanied by guides. For this reason, optional extended tours are offered, which may include such extras as viewing of exclusive newsreel footage showing the Japanese surrender ceremony, presided over by General Douglas McArthur and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.
Before returning to shore on the extended tours, visitors are treated to light refreshments in the Captain's Cabin. For others seeking food and drink, the Sliders Grill serves hamburgers, hot dogs and soft drinks near the pier.
During the first year after it opened, the now-peaceful battleship welcomed some 400,000 visitors. More recently, the annual number has topped one million. The USS Battleship Missouri Memorial is open daily from 9am to 5pm, creating and maintaining "a fitting memorial to the people and historic events reflecting our nation's legacy of duty, honor, strength, resolve and sacrifice.''
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