FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
70TH ANNIVERSARY OF USS MISSOURI’S LAUNCH TO BE CELEBRATED AT LIVING HISTORY DAY ON
FORD ISLAND, FEBRUARY 1
Free Admission for Hawaii Residents to the Battleship Missouri Memorial
Pearl Harbor, HI – (December 16, 2013) – A day of festivities celebrating the 70th anniversary of the launch ofAmerica’s last and most famous battleship, the USS Missouri, will be the centerpiece of “Living History Day on Ford
Island” on Saturday, February 1, 2014.
Guests to the Battleship Missouri Memorial on Living History Day will enjoy a variety of historical exhibits andactivities that will be as fun and entertaining, as they are educational, including:





Displays of military vehicles, memorabilia and weaponry;
Bands playing patriotic music;
Oral history presentations;
People in period dress from the World War II era, and;Actors portraying famous figures of World War II, such as General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester
Nimitz.

Admission will be free to Hawaii residents and members of the Battleship Missouri Memorial and Pacific Aviation
Museum Pearl Harbor on February 1.
“Historic Ford Island, as seen through the Battleship Missouri Memorial, is significant to anyone who appreciates thelegacy of sacrifice and freedom that Pearl Harbor represents to our Armed Forces and the American people,” said
Michael A. Carr, President and COO of the Battleship Missouri Memorial. “Living History Day on Ford Island will be awonderful experience for guests to remember, honor and learn about what makes this such a special place in ournation’s history.”
It was on January 29, 1944, the height of combat in World War II, when Margaret Truman, daughter of President
Harry Truman, christened the USS Missouri as the great battleship was launched from the Brooklyn Navy Yard andsent to protect America’s freedom in the Pacific Theatre.
Today, as the Battleship Missouri Memorial, the “Mighty Mo” is berthed at Pier Foxtrot 5 on Ford Island in Pearl
Harbor, standing bow-to-bow to the sunken USS Arizona and creating a stirring bond between America’s twobattleships signifying the beginning and end of World War II.
Construction of the USS Missouri began on January 6, 1941, 11 months before the December 7, 1941 attack at Pearl
Harbor and other military installations in Hawaii and the Pacific by Imperial Japan that thrust America into World WarII, and three years before the gigantic battleship was launched. Stretching three football fields long and standing 20
stories tall from keel to mast, the USS Missouri was instrumental to victory in major battles of the Pacific, before
serving as the memorable site where General MacArthur, Admiral Nimitz and the Allied Forces accepted Imperial
Japan’s surrender to end World War II and restore peace on September 2, 1945. The Missouri’s famed “SurrenderDeck” is now a must-see monument for visitors to the battleship.

The Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor is also being showcased on Living History Day on Ford Island and willoffer guests a series of special events, attractions, and presentation to enjoy at its two hangars.
Ford Island or Moku‘ume‘ume, its Hawaiian name meaning “isle of attraction,” is located in the middle of Pearl Harborand consists of about 500 acres of land. Named for Dr. Seth Porter Ford (1817-1866), a Hawaii physician, Ford
Island was purchased by the Army during World War I and transferred to the Navy in the mid-1930s. The tiny island isbest known for being at the center of “Battleship Row” during the attack on Pearl Harbor, as it was ringed bybattleships and other vessels of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Battleship Missouri Memorial
The Battleship Missouri Memorial is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. General admission, which includes choiceof an optional tour, is $22 per adult and $11 per child (4-12). Military, kama‘aina (local resident) and school grouppricing is available. For information or reservations, call (toll-free) 1-877-644-4896 or visit USSMissouri.org.
The Battleship Missouri Memorial, located a mere ship’s length from the USS Arizona Memorial, completes ahistorical visitor experience that begins with the “day of infamy” and the sinking of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harborand ends with Imperial Japan’s surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
Following an astounding career that spans five decades and three wars, from World War II to the Korean conflict tothe Liberation of Kuwait, the “Mighty Mo” was decommissioned and donated to the USS Missouri Memorial
Association, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which operates the battleship as a historic attraction andmemorial.
The Association oversees her care and preservation with the support of visitors, memberships, grants and thegenerosity of donors.
###Please credit images to the Battleship Missouri Memorial

Link to image: http://i.imgur.com/fibR5UV.jpg
Caption: The keel laying ceremony held is for the USS Missouri at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, January 6, 1941. Rear
Admiral Clark Woodward, Commandant of the Navy Yard, (second from right) drives the first rivet.

Link to image: http://i.imgur.com/909IQlT.jpg
Caption: The USS Missouri is prepared for launching at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, January 29, 1944.

Link to image: http://i.imgur.com/ZT3eWjG.jpg
Caption: Miss Margaret Truman, the USS Missouri's Sponsor, prepares to christen the battleship, during launching
ceremonies at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, January 29, 1944. Looking on are (left to right): Rear Admiral Monroe R.
Kelly, Brooklyn Navy Yard Commandant; Rear Admiral Sherman S. Kennedy, USN, and U.S. Senator Harry S.
Truman of Missouri.

Link to image: http://i.imgur.com/VkPAMzG.jpg
Caption: The USS Missouri slides down the ways during her launching at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, January 29, 1944.

Link to image: http://i.imgur.com/oDKCuh5.jpg
Caption: The USS Missouri approaches the end of the building ways as she is launched, January 29 1944, at theBrooklyn Navy Yard.

Link to image: http://i.imgur.com/ahHhr3I.jpg
Caption: The USS Missouri enters the water for the first time, during her launching at the Brooklyn Navy Yard,
January 29, 1944.

Link to image: http://i.imgur.com/BRN8v4I.jpg
Caption: The retired USS Missouri today is berthed at Pier Foxtrot 5 on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor and welcomesvisitors daily as the Battleship Missouri Memorial.

Media Contact:
Patrick Dugan808-539-3411/808-741-2712
Patrick.Dugan@AnthologyGroup.com
Jaclyn Hawse(808) 455-1600 x246
JaclynH@ussmissouri.org