USS Missouri

Plaque marking surrender signing location on USS Missouri.

Shot of Surrender Deck on Missouri

Note the plaque location.

Shot of Missouri's big guns from stem.

Shot of replica of Commodore Perry's flag on Missouri

Nimitz had Perry's flag brought from mainland to be on deck when Japanese surrendered. Flag so old that Annapolis curators sewed linen backing on it to keep it together. But that made it impossible to hang any way other than backward.

This flag is replica of Perry flag that museum had made.

Shot of Arizona Memorial from Missouri deck.

Comments

[Suzanne]

Lest anyone be confused, the instrument of surrender was not signed in Hawaii. The Missouri, along with a large contingent of U.S. ships were anchored in Toyko Bay for the ceremony. The ship is now a part of the memorial in Hawaii.

My dad was on his ship in the Bay of Tokyo on that day!

[Brian]

Great Pics! I toured Mighty Mo in 1983 when she was in Bremerton, WA. I have a great pic from the bow facing the guns too as well as a good one of the plaque. She's such a beautiful ship!

For some interesting reading, search the web for the proposed Montana-class battleships. They were going to be much larger than the Iowa-class ships but not quite as large as Japan's Yamato.

[Sean Meade]

I've always had a softspot for the Iowa class, born and bred in that fair state :-)

How interesting, Brian!

Montana-class battleships Google search

Montana class battleship Wikipedia entry

Man, I might have to post on this myself!

[Tom Barnett]

If you look at the plaque closely, it cites the longitude and latitude of the Missouri at time of surrender.

[Don Hess]

If one travels aft on the main deck, the "dent" received from a kamikaze strike can be seen on the starboard side just at the edge of the main deck. The hit occurred 11 April, 1945. Damage to the ship was minimal, damage to the aircraft was total.

[Brian]

I found the pictures I took in 1983 and posted them here: [Link]

Note that the plaque is a different color. I have no idea why.

Kids do silly things. Why did I only take three pictures of this?

[Jay]

Hi
We were on the Missouri on March 26, 2006. We must have been there about the same time. Weather was terrible and the water was muddy.
Jay

[Matt]

Brian,

The plaque is now a different color because Mighty Mo was brought back into service for Desert Storm. The plaque was removed at that time. When the ship was decommissioned again, a new plaqe was installed. I can't remember where the guide said the original plaque is now located.

[Paul Stine]

I'm confused as to exact location of the surrender plaque...is it fore or aft port side? Is it near one of the main turrets? Is deck 01 elevated off the main working deck? Your kind reply is appreciated. Sincerely, Paul

[joel]

I have heard conflicting comments on the plaques color one thing i have heard is that the missouri association (former sailors) each donated a penny and with this penny the association cut a fraction out and put it into the plaque we see. the sailors then recieved the rest of the penny back. So... i heard that its just the copper like an old penny fading. but i have heard that this is a new plaqu as well.

I am also proud to say that my grandfather was aboard the the Mighty Mo during WWII and is a proud plaque holder. He was Damage control on duty when the Kamakazzi (not sure if i spelled it correctly) Made the hit, he was the first to report it. These are great pics Thanks for having them on here!

I have never personally been there but i would love to go i actually own a piece of the deck of the Missouri!

[Ron, Ottawa Canada]

While editing my video taken in February 2007 I searched in vain for an explanation for the backward flag with 31 stars. Thanks to this site I'm now able to explain it. Thank you!