I know that is is now past Veterans day, but a fellow blogger reminded me of this post. I hope that he will post HIS original post but here is an interesting history lesson...
In the interest of angering the laundry Gods to whom I am supposed to be paying homage to by washing, drying, folding and putting away a gargantuan mountain of laundry (which I am still avoiding to post this) I was attempting to solve a little mystery.
Ken, over at The Fifth String on the Banjo of Life (formerly of It Comes In Pints?), had at one time been posting old pictures and telling their stories. (We all know that I really am a sucker for picture stories) It is also because I am such a history nerd and I am desperate to avoid the slopes of Mount Dirty Laundry, I give you the "Rest Of The Story..."
Ken didn't recognize the first picture and so in the interests of avoiding as many domestic goddess duties as I could, I went looking for the name of the ship.
Ken didn't recognize the first picture and so in the interests of avoiding as many domestic goddess duties as I could, I went looking for the name of the ship.
Ken's response was:
Why I love the blogosphere
DATE: 09/29/2007 07:26:31 PM
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And why I love the dear folks who drop by this tiny little corner of it.
A few days ago, I mentioned a picture I got a kick out of, which was really only part of a picture, being on the back of an article clipped out of the Red Bluff Daily News. Today the lovely Lemon Stand dropped by and mentioned that I should have scanned it. Well, yeah, I should have. So I did and emailed it to her.
Naturally, the dear lady knows the picture, the ship, and the context. And she has posted it (after very kindly sending me a large, full-color copy of the original).
Yes, I am ashamed that I did not recognize the Mighty Mo. I blame the beer. And the ignorance...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Lemon Stand
DATE: 09/30/2007 04:15:36 AM
Thank you again for helping me to waste time and avoid Mount Dirty Laundry for a little while. (Next time could you find a photograph that takes all weekend? Just saying...) letting me research this fine photograph for you. :o)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Lemon Stand
DATE: 09/30/2007 04:17:29 AM
::Note to self - remember Ken's comments does not allow strikethroughs so posts don't make me look like an illiterate slob::
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life
DATE: 09/30/2007 08:11:15 AM
Yeah, it's a bit of a pain, that no strikethrough thing.
First of all, after reading his post I left a whiny comment but Ken, gentleman that he was and is, was kind enough to send me the picture that he was describing in his post...
I discovered that the ship in the first picture was of the "Mighty Mo". (USS Missouri) and although the newspaper picture shows it was published on 15 Mar 1952, the picture was actually taken October 21, 1950 (second picture) and shows the Missouri (BB-63) bombarding Communist positions off Chong Jin, Korea. She is only about forty miles from the Soviet border, so all hands are at General Quarters. Official U.S. Navy Photograph USNHC # 80-G-K-12603, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives. (according to Wikipedia)
The USS Missouri was an Iowa class battleship and was known for being the site of the surrender of Japan at the end of WWII. She is presently a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For more of the history of "Mighty Mo" see Wikipedia or the USS Missouri.
Oh, and since I really am avoiding the depressing laundry today, here is some more interesting information...
I further found after reading the history that the "Mighty Mo" was somewhere between Guantanamo Bay and New York when that article came out after having been overhauled at Norfolk Naval Shipyard between Oct 1951 and Jan 1952. So it also probably did not look like the picture anymore. (explains the old stock photo being used for the newspaper article)
Now after reading other web pages while trying to find information on this ship I can say that "The Peace Ship" was a play on the term. A "Peace Ship" was a ship that carried peace activists and one of the most notable ones a ship called the Oscar II, hired by Henry Ford in 1916 to take a group of pacifists to Stockholm and the Netherlands to meet with other pacifists.
The article, although I could not read it, probably inferred that the way to Peace was by 'deterrence'.
Unfortunately that is the end of the story. No more tidbits to avoid the washing machine. ::dragging feet, downcast expression, moving towards the laundry room::
I discovered that the ship in the first picture was of the "Mighty Mo". (USS Missouri) and although the newspaper picture shows it was published on 15 Mar 1952, the picture was actually taken October 21, 1950 (second picture) and shows the Missouri (BB-63) bombarding Communist positions off Chong Jin, Korea. She is only about forty miles from the Soviet border, so all hands are at General Quarters. Official U.S. Navy Photograph USNHC # 80-G-K-12603, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives. (according to Wikipedia)
The USS Missouri was an Iowa class battleship and was known for being the site of the surrender of Japan at the end of WWII. She is presently a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For more of the history of "Mighty Mo" see Wikipedia or the USS Missouri.
Oh, and since I really am avoiding the depressing laundry today, here is some more interesting information...
I further found after reading the history that the "Mighty Mo" was somewhere between Guantanamo Bay and New York when that article came out after having been overhauled at Norfolk Naval Shipyard between Oct 1951 and Jan 1952. So it also probably did not look like the picture anymore. (explains the old stock photo being used for the newspaper article)
Now after reading other web pages while trying to find information on this ship I can say that "The Peace Ship" was a play on the term. A "Peace Ship" was a ship that carried peace activists and one of the most notable ones a ship called the Oscar II, hired by Henry Ford in 1916 to take a group of pacifists to Stockholm and the Netherlands to meet with other pacifists.
The article, although I could not read it, probably inferred that the way to Peace was by 'deterrence'.
Unfortunately that is the end of the story. No more tidbits to avoid the washing machine. ::dragging feet, downcast expression, moving towards the laundry room::
And it has been posted at the Banjo place, dear girl.
ReplyDeleteThank you kind sir. (You know there must be some correlation between getting older and more polite. I don't know what's come over me in recent years. Must be the manners we've tried to instill in the kids. I wonder why it is only rubbing off on me?)
ReplyDelete