Volunteers line up
to help restore
‘Mighty Mo’
The Missouri Association opens a
By Gregg K. Kakesako
new operations center and phone line
Star-BulletinThe ranks of the USS Missouri Memorial Association keep growing, and a mobile operations center has been opened on Ford Island to coordinate efforts to refurbish the battleship and transform it into a floating museum.
This morning, the association was to commemorate the arrival of the 887-foot battleship with a Hawaiian blessing by the Rev. Bill Kaina. The "Mighty Mo" arrived in Honolulu Sunday, and on Monday, docked at Foxtrot 5 pier, about a battleship length away from the USS Arizona Memorial.
Rear Adm. William Sutton, Pearl Harbor Naval Base commander, today said the battleships Arizona and the Missouri symbolize more than just the start and the end of World War II.
"The Arizona symbolizes the tragedy of war," Sutton said. "The Missouri symbolizes the spirit of a unified country -- our American character brought victory in the Pacific and new era of peace, progress and prosperity for all nations of the Pacific Rim. Together, here these ships symbolize the sacrifices made by our servicemembers and their families and the resolve that our country will always prevail."
Tom Manuel, association vice president of administration and finance, estimated that more than $32,000 worth of ball caps, T-shirts, key chains, aloha shirts and other Missouri memorabilia were sold during the two-day weekend celebration.
"I think our biggest sellers were T-shirts that said 'Mighty Mo,' " he said.
Manuel said the association is still responding to requests for hats from residents of Astoria, Ore., where the Missouri stayed for a week to clean its hull of alien organisms accumulated during six years of mothballing at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington.
Andrianne Greenlees, director of fund-raising for the association, said membership inquiries are on the rise. She said she hasn't been able to update the membership list, which now tops more than 200, because her time is taken up answering phones and coordinating calls from people volunteering to refinish the battleship.
The Missouri is scheduled to open to the public in January.
The association also has established a volunteer telephone number at 536-7177, and a fax line at 545-2265.
Volunteers are needed to perform tasks like removing rust and loose paint, repainting exterior walls, and refurbishing the teak wooden decks. Clerical help also is needed at the association's Nimitz Highway office.
In a related matter, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said the Senate has adopted his amendment, added to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 1999, which calls on the Pentagon to submit by Dec. 1 a plan to develop Ford Island as a public-private partnership.
The plan would entail a development strategy using both federal funds and public-private partnerships. The measure still faces more votes in Congress.
Catch USS Missouri online at:
http://www.ussmissouri.com or
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