I'm shirking my duty this month. I wanted to write about Russellville, but I ran out of time. Instead you are going to get a history of the ships of the "Missouri Navy." I'm giving two programs this month - one to the Breakfast Rotary and one to the Host Lions - so you will learn all about our Missouri namesake ships.
We'll start with the first U.S.S. Missouri, a paddle-wheel frigate built in 1841 at a cost of $570,000. In 1843, she was a part of the Mediterranean Squadron and, while in Gibraltar, caught fire and exploded.
The second Missouri, CSS Missouri, was a Confederate ironclad built on the Red River in Shreveport. She never saw action and surrendered at the end of the Civil War. She was so badly built the U.S. Navy towed her to Mound City, Illinois, and scrapped her. She was never officially commissioned into the United States Navy, but many historians still count her as the second Missouri warship.
Our third U.S.S. Missouri BB-11 was commissioned in December 1903 and was built at a cost of $5 million. She carried four 12-inch guns that could fire 870-pound shells almost 8 miles. She sailed around the world with "The Great White Fleet" in 1907-08, and was the second ship to pass through the Panama Canal in 1915. Former U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton's father served on this ship, and the punch bowl in the Governor's Mansion is from her silver service. BB-11 was scrapped in 1922.
The most famous U.S.S. Missouri BB-63 was commissioned in 1944 at the height of World War II. She weighed more than 45,000 tons and carried nine 16-inch guns that fired 1,300-pound shells more than 30 miles. The Japanese surrendered on her deck in 1945, and she served through Korea and was mothballed in 1955.
I helped recommission her in 1986, and she served in the Persian Gulf during Desert Storm. Her 16-inch guns were deadly and Iraqi soldiers actually surrendered to her drone. The drone was launched from the battleship to spot targets and range her shelling. The Iraqis knew that when the drones came over, shells followed.
In 1991, it was decided it was too expensive to operate four battleships with nearly 7,000 crew members. I was invited to ride the U.S.S. Missouri on its last North American cruise in 1992 to arrange the return of the silver service and the ship's bell. We decommissioned her shortly afterwards and she is now a museum ship at Pearl Harbor. Last June, I had the opportunity to return a place setting of the silver service to the Missouri.
The fifth U.S.S. Missouri SSN-780 is a Virginia class fast-attack submarine commissioned July 31, 2010. She cost $3.5 billion to build and is a 21st century state-of-the-art warship. She has no periscope but carries a photonic mast. She will never have to be refueled during her 30-plus years of life, and her mission is stealth and operating with Seal teams. Gov. Matt Blunt appointed me chairman of the Commissioning Committee so she truly is "my submarine." Gov. Mike Parson and I were honored to ride her into Pearl Harbor, her new homeport, in January 2018. She's a wonderful ship!
Since I'm talking submarines, I can't leave out the U.S.S. Jefferson City SSN-759. She is a Los Angeles class fast-attack submarine, which I also helped commission Feb. 29, 1992. (She's a leap-year submarine!) She also took part in Desert Storm firing cruise missiles into Iraq. She is currently at Pearl Harbor undergoing a mid-life upgrade so she will be part of the Missouri Navy for at least another 15 years. Parson and I met her captain and crew in January.
The U.S.S. Columbia SSN-774 is a step-sister of the U.S.S. Jefferson City. She is also a Los Angeles class submarine named for Columbia, Missouri; Columbia, South Carolina; and Columbia, Illinois. Columbia, Missouri, considers her their submarine, and so do I.
The Missouri Navy has other ships in "our fleet" besides submarines. The aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Harry S. Truman CVN-75 was commissioned July 25, 1998, in Norfolk, Virginia. We fed 25,000 people who attended the commissioning. She cost $4.5 billion to build and weighs more than 100,000 tons. Her flight deck covers over 4 acres and she has a crew of 5,000 and an airwing of 80-plus aircraft. I have been on five cruises on the Truman, and she is currently deployed in the Mediterranean.
We have had five warships named for St. Louis and two for Kansas City, and we will add a new U.S.S. St. Louis LCS-19 to the fleet in 2019, and a new U.S.S. Kansas City LCS-22 in 2020-21.
I have been fortunate enough to have served on the commissioning committees of the U.S.S. Missouri BB-63, the U.S.S. Jefferson City SSN-759, the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman CVN-75 and the U.S.S. Missouri SSN-780, and now, on the U.S.S. St. Louis LCS-19. These are all "my ships," and I have commissioned them, cruised on them and made lifelong friends with crew members.
I currently serve as a volunteer for the employers in support of the Guard and Reserve program, which is funded by the Department of Defense and operates with the Missouri National Guard. We bring crew members of our Missouri namesake ships back for visits, and I also take special people out to visit our ships. If you're one of those special people let me know!
Parson has a strong "Missouri Navy" with our new ships joining the fleet. If he would wish to attack Kansas, we have them seven ships to two. Kansas only has the submarine Topeka, and a new LCS Wichita! KU watch out!
Sam Bushman is the presiding commissioner on the Cole County Commission. He shares his perspective each month on county issues. He can be reached at [email protected].