A Salute to the Missouri : Historic Battleship Returns From War to Rousing Welcome

The battleship Missouri returned from six months in the Persian Gulf on Monday to what is likely to be its final homecoming at the Long Beach Naval Station, and was met by a festive crush of banners, balloons, cheerleaders and a flag-waving crowd of thousands.

“This is the most spectacular homecoming I’ve ever been involved in,” said the ship’s captain, Albert L. Kaiss, speaking to reporters on the deck of the historic ship, not far from the spot where the Japanese government surrendered to the Allies in 1945. “This means a lot.”

Navy officials say the ship will be based in Long Beach until the end of the year, after which it will be decommissioned and moved to Bremerton, Wash., to be put in mothballs.

“It’s a sad moment, but she’s coming back in triumph,” said Steven B. Chesser, a Navy spokesman. “She lived up to all the expectations the Navy has of a battleship.”

First commissioned in 1944, the ship saw active duty during the final years of World War II. In 1956, the Navy took it out of service, only to recommission the Missouri in 1986 and send it to the Persian Gulf last November.

While there, Chesser said, the ship--one of only two U.S. Navy battleships on active duty--played a major role in the war by firing 28 Tomahawk missiles at targets deep within Iraq and using its 16-inch guns to fire more than 1.1 million pounds of ammunition at 29 targets in occupied Kuwait.

By far the most memorable moment, returning crew members said, came Feb. 25 when the Iraqis fired a Silkworm missile at the ship and narrowly missed. Although the missile was intercepted by a nearby vessel before it could do any harm, they said the experience proved frightening.

“It was scary,” said Donald Locke, 27, of Florida. “Nobody thought they would fire on a battleship.”

By Monday, the excitement of battle had been replaced by another kind of thrill. That was evident in the husky cheers of the 1,500 sailors lining the deck in their white dress uniforms as the throng of wives, children, sweethearts, parents and friends waiting on the dock came slowly into view. It was also clear from the frenzied hollers of the crowd and blowing of foghorns as the “Mighty Mo” approached.

For what seemed like an interminable time, the two groups stood gazing at each other after the ship docked. Suddenly, the gangways were lowered and the crowd surged aboard, creating a scene of tearful pandemonium as lovers embraced, fathers kissed children, and siblings patted each other on the back.

“It’s great to be home,” said Patrick Upton, 21, hugging his mother, Lynn, and his girlfriend, Lesa Reno, 20, both of whom had flown in from Alabama to meet him. “I want to take this uniform off and relax.”

Mitch Holliday, 32, of Long Beach had some trouble getting his 18-month-old daughter, Jessica, to warm up to him. “I used to be her idol. Now she doesn’t even know me,” he said.

Harlos Brand, 20, cradling the 3-month-old son whom he had never seen, could barely contain his emotions as he stared back and forth between his wife, Karen, and the baby, Harlos Jr. “I never want to leave him again,” he said. “He’s a gift. I want to stay with him always.”