Stepping aboard the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor is a memory that stays with you. It’s not only a historic vessel—it’s the echo of a thousand lives, decisions, and sacrifices that remade the world. Hawaiian sea air filled with sea salt is disrupted by the weight of history, and one’s past and present become indistinguishable. Better known to her crew as the Mighty Mo, she is greater than rivets, steel, and teak; she is hope, determination, and the indomitable spirit of all who served on her.
The history of Missouri cannot be divorced from the twentieth century. Commissioned in 1944, she played a role in the Pacific, with troops in Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and even as Admiral Halsey’s flagship in the great Battle of Leyte Gulf. But most historic perhaps was September 2, 1945, when she served as the location for the official Japanese surrender that marked the end of World War II.
On her teak deck, world leaders signed the Instrument of Surrender to conclude the most fatal war in the history of humanity. The Missouri was not chosen just because she was powerful or because she was constructed after Tokyo Bay, but because she represented hope and peace for a new life.
Today, the USS Missouri is not merely a relic of history. Since she was dedicated to becoming a museum in 1999, millions have trodden her decks, drawn by the chance to touch history and honor the sacrifices made towards achieving peace. The museum experience is designed to be intimate and interactive.
The Pathway to Peace exhibit, which is funded by the USS Missouri Memorial Association, is the one that embodies the sailors’ tales. Treasured gifts, personal items, and interactive exhibits donated by family members and sailors enable people to hear first-hand histories, see treasured artifacts, and walk in the very footsteps where the world shifted towards peace.
It’s the histories related by the individuals who actually come to life for you. Missouri decks have seen horror and relief—covert kamikaze attacks to the dignity of surrender. Tour guides such as Cedrick Badua take tourists through such narratives, pointing towards the gold plaque at which surrender occurred, photographs of General MacArthur and the Japanese troops, and even residual scarring from war combat. Every dent, every repair is a testament to strength and courage, such as the kamikaze pilot who crashed his aircraft into the ship and whose sea burial was on her honor roll.
Maintenance of the Missouri is a labor of love. The ship demands TLC constantly—painting, sanding, and maintaining thousands of square feet of teak and steel shipshape. Volunteers, some just out of their teens, work alongside committed staff to keep her alive as a living history for generations to come. The nonprofit exists on donations, ticket sales, and incalculable volunteer man-hours, each brushstroke vowing in the men and women who served.
But the Missouri spirit is more than preservation. It’s reconciliation, understanding, and bridging. USS Missouri Memorial Association President and CEO Michael Carr has been waging a battle for years to obtain exhibits to honor American and Japanese perspectives, aligning with Japanese peace museums and challenging countries to be involved in dialogue.
As the Consulate-General of Japan in Honolulu has noted, Carr’s book is to demonstrate that even the most serious wounds can heal, and peace is something to be sought and must be nursed and maintained.
Commemorations such as the 80th Anniversary of the end of WWII keep her memory alive. Celebrating the courage, sacrifices, and WWII veterans, but reminding everyone of us to look to the worth of the lessons learned. Moored just one ship’s length away from the USS Arizona Memorial, the Missouri functions to complete the circle around the place in a moving circle of remembrance—witness to the grief and hope.
Prowling her decks today, one can’t help but sense the ghosts of those who preceded her: mariners, commanders, and everyday heroes motivated by a belief in something more significant than themselves. The Missouri legacy isn’t quantified in guns or displacement; it resides in the spirit she bears—a spirit of remembrance, reconciliation, and perpetual hope for peace.