Korean War Diary Excerpt

This is an excerpt from the USS Missouri Korean War Diary recording during the early months of Korean War, when early victories gave false hope of an early end to the Korean War.

CONFIDENTAIL
UNITED STATES PACIFIC FLEET
U.S.S. MISSOURII BB63
Care Fleet Post Office
San Francisco, California

WAR DIARY

21 September through 30 September

Anchored as before - Lat. 37o 23.6' N, Long. 126o 33.5' E

Anchored off Inchon, Korea, as unit of TG 90.6, JTF 7, assigned as fire support ship for the 7th Infantry Division, U. S. Army, standing by for fire support missions. Ship in Condition of Readiness III, expect during morning and evening twilight and during air alerts (Flash RED) at which time Condition of Readiness IAA was set. There was no evidence of positive identification of enemy aircraft in the objective area during this period.

At 1325I on 21 September, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (CinCFE) accompanied by Vice Admiral A.D. Struble, USN (CJTF ), Major General E. M. Almond (CG X Corps), and other subordinate commanders made an official call on the Commanding Officer MISSOURI. General MacArthur expressed his pleasure and satisfaction in revisiting of his acceptance of the surrender of Japan in World War II. He and his party left the ship at 1356I.

On the night of 21 September, the Commanding General X Corps established his headquarter ashore in the city Inchon, assumed command of the operation. At the time JTF 7 was dissolved and CTF 90 ( ComPhibGroupONE) became Commander Naval Support Force.

At 1740I 22 September commenced 16" ranging mission as called for by the 7th Infantry Division. Mission was discontinued because air spotter could not observe. Ammunition expended: 3 HC16".At 0835I 23 September commenced another 16" ranging mission. Mission observed by air spotter. Results excellent. Ammunition expended: 7 HC 16"/

On 29 September the Commanding Officer MISSIOURI participated in the triumphal march in to Seoul and witnessed the formal restoration of the Republic of Korea by General of the Army MacArthur.

The USS Missouri is 108 feet 2 inches wide and built to traverse the Panama Canal which is 110 feet wide.
Mary Margaret Truman, daughter of the then junior Senator Harry S. Truman, christened the USS Missouri on January 29, 1944.
From its keel to the top of her mast, the USS Missouri is as tall as a 20-story building (209 feet 3 inches tall).
Theoretical top speed for the USS Missouri is 33 knots or almost 40 miles per hour.
The USS Missouri has never had a combat death aboard her decks.
When the family of President Harry S. Truman was on board, they made it a practice to eat at least one meal a day with the crew in the Crew’s Mess.
The USS Missouri has three gun turrets with three guns each. The 16-inch guns were the largest ever installed on a Navy ship.
The USS Missouri’s big guns are aimed based upon the commands of an analog computer first designed in the 1920s.
Each gun weighs 230,000 pounds, or about as much as a space shuttle.
Two guns together weigh about as much as a fully loaded Boeing 747.
Each Navy battleship carried a detachment of Marines on board who were the ran the brig or jail.
During World War II, the USS Missouri launched spotter seaplanes from two catapults on the stern of the ship.
The USS Arizona and the USS Missouri are known as the “bookends” of America’s involvement in World War II.
The USS Missouri now hosts several military ceremonies, including re-enlistments, retirements and change of command.
The USS Missouri was truly the end of an era. She was the very last battleship of any nation to be decommissioned.
Each turret of the USS Missouri was manned by 77 to 110 men working in the turret and on five decks below the turret.
The USS Missouri crew earned three battle stars in World War II and five battle stars in the Korean War.
Although it looks like one, the USS Missouri is no longer a Navy ship. It is owned by the USS Missouri Memorial Association.
The USS Missouri's four engine rooms can generate 212,000 horsepower moving forward and 44,000 going astern.
Three former American Presidents have boarded the Battleship Missouri: Harry S. Truman, George H. W. Bush Sr. and George W. Bush, Jr.
The total number of meals served during both active commissioning periods is approximately 40,615,000 meals.