Community Corner
USS Iowa to Open to the Public Saturday
The ship is housed at Berth 87 along the Port of Los Angeles' main channel.
After more than a month of primping and preparation, the retired battleship USS Iowa, known as the Battleship of Presidents, will open Saturday as a permanent floating museum at the Port of Los Angeles.
A host of dignitaries attended the re-commissioning event Wednesday
aboard the ship, including Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad; Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin; Rep. Janice Hahn, D-San Pedro; Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; and Julianna Roosevelt, the great-granddaughter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hundreds of veterans, including former members of the USS Iowa's crew, were also in attendance.
The USS Iowa, also referred to as the "Big Stick," docked at the Port
of Los Angeles last month after being towed along the coast from Northern California. The ship is now housed at Berth 87 along the port's main channel.
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Construction of the ship, which took about two years, began in 1940, and the Iowa was the first of four in its class completed. Once commissioned, the Iowa carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his top military advisers to Casablanca en route to the 1943 Tehran Conference.
The Iowa would later serve in the Pacific Fleet, shelling beachheads in the Marshall Islands. The ship was at the battle of Okinawa and was among the first to enter Tokyo Bay after Japan's surrender.
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In 1989, during a training mission off Puerto Rico, the 16-inch gun in Turret No. 2 exploded, killing 47 sailors, and the ship was decommissioned the next year.
The nonprofit Pacific Battleship Center raised about $9 million to move and restore the ship, including $3 million from the state of Iowa. The group took out another $5 million in loans and raised the rest through donations and pro bono work.
The Pacific Battleship Center will operate the floating museum. Museum
memberships are available at www.pacificbattleship.com.
A general admission ticket will run $18. Retired members of the military
and seniors will get in for $15, and youths ages 6-17 will get in for $10.
The museum will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except on
Thanksgiving and Christmas.