USS Missouri Timeline

President Harry Truman, whose home state gave the battleship her name, sailed aboard the Missouri to Rio de Janeiro for the Inter-American Conference, highlighting the special bond between Truman and his favorite battleship.

With the post-Korean War drawdown, the Missouri was decommissioned at Bremerton, Washington, joining the Pacific Reserve Fleet where she would remain moored for nearly thirty years as a symbol of American sea power.

As part of the Reagan administration's plan to build a 600-ship Navy, Congress approved the modernization and reactivation of all four Iowa-class battleships, including the Missouri, to counter Soviet naval expansion.

Image source: Iowa-class battleship

The Missouri underwent an extensive refit that removed some older anti-aircraft guns and added Tomahawk and Harpoon missile launchers, Phalanx CIWS mounts, and updated electronics while preserving her nine 16-inch guns.

On her first deployment since recommissioning, the Missouri became the first battleship to circumnavigate the globe since Theodore Roosevelt's Great White Fleet, visiting ports including Australia and Hawaii.

The recommissioning ceremony at Long Beach drew thousands, including President Ronald Reagan. Now fitted with modern missiles alongside her massive guns, the 'Mighty Mo' rejoined the fleet for a new era.

Deployed to the Persian Gulf region amid the Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq conflict, the Missouri helped protect shipping lanes, demonstrating US commitment to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.

Image source: Operation Earnest Will

While en route from Norfolk, the Missouri ran hard aground on a shoal in Thimble Shoal Channel near Hampton Roads, Virginia. Refloating efforts took nearly three weeks, making national headlines before she was freed on February 1, 1950.

Image source: 1950 USS Missouri grounding

After North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950, the Missouri was dispatched to Korean waters, arriving in mid-September 1950 to provide gunfire support for United Nations forces fighting along the peninsula.

Image source: Korean War

The Missouri screened carrier operations and delivered heavy bombardments against North Korean targets, supporting the Inchon landings and later operations along Korea's eastern coast, earning multiple battle stars.

Image source: Battle of Inchon

The Missouri returned to Korean waters for a second tour, conducting gun strikes against railway lines, supply depots, and coastal targets until the armistice was signed in July 1953, then returned home.

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait led the United States and coalition allies to launch Operation Desert Shield. The Missouri was ordered to deploy to the Persian Gulf as part of the growing military buildup.

Image source: Gulf War

The Missouri took station in the northern Persian Gulf with her sister Wisconsin, ready to support coalition operations against Iraqi forces occupying Kuwait.

In the opening hours of the Gulf War air campaign, the Missouri fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets in occupied Kuwait, marking the first combat use of her modernized missile systems.

The Missouri's 16-inch guns pounded Iraqi artillery, bunkers, and command posts in occupied Kuwait, including support around the Battle of Khafji. Her fire missions helped pave the way for the ground offensive, and Iraq even attempted an attack on her using Silkworm missiles that were intercepted or fell short.

Image source: Battle of Khafji

A ceasefire ended the Gulf War after a swift coalition victory liberated Kuwait. The Missouri returned to the United States having proven the enduring value of battleships in modern warfare.

Even before and after opening as a museum, the Missouri appeared in popular culture, most notably in the film Battleship (2012), cementing her status as an iconic symbol of American naval history.

Image source: USS Missouri (BB-63)

With the Cold War over and defense budgets shrinking, the Missouri was decommissioned at Long Beach, ending her active service career. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1995.

Secretary of the Navy John Dalton transferred ownership of the Missouri to the USS Missouri Memorial Association, which prepared to make Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, her permanent home beside the sunken USS Arizona.

Towed from Bremerton across the Pacific Ocean, the Mighty Mo arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where she would be berthed at Ford Island, just yards from the wreck of the USS Arizona, bookending America's involvement in World War II.

Exactly 55 years after her launch, the USS Missouri opened as a museum at Pearl Harbor. Visitors can now stand on the spot where Japan surrendered in 1945, making the site one of Hawaii's most visited memorials.