The USS Missouri

Yesterday Caleb and I went to Pearl Harbor to visit the USS Missouri.  For those who might not know, it's the ship on which the peace treaty was signed that ended World War II when Japan surrendered.  The ship was still being built when the war began, but it was the star attraction at the end of the war.  The treaty was signed in Tokyo Bay.

I've been there several times, and it takes my breath away each time I visit. 

This first photo is of the memorial list of the men who perished on the USS Arizona.



This is one of the anchors that was recovered from the Arizona.

This is the Missouri.

Caleb is kneeling at the exact spot where the treaty was signed. 

The next two images are just random scenes from below decks on the Missouri.

You can see the bow of the Missouri, and the white structure in the water to the left of it is the Arizona memorial, with the Ford Island Bridge behind it.

As our tour guide was finishing with his talk, I noticed off to the rear of us that there was a retirement ceremony going on.  Naturally, I left the tour and went over to where I could take photos of the ceremony.  It was very awesome, and even though I have no idea who that person was, yup, you guessed it, I had tears in my eyes.  It was totally beautiful.  The man standing with his back to the camera was the retiree, being presented with the flag.

After receiving the flag, which by the way, was flown for one day at each of the duty stations of the retiree's career specifically for this ceremony, he handed it off to another sailor.



As he turned back to the crowd, the emcee announced, "ladies & gentlemen, I present to you, retiree so & so."  As you can see, he gave a little victory cheer.  23 years of honorable Naval service.  Good for him!

On March 26 I will have the huge honor of being the photographer for a retiring Marine who served for over 30 years. I can hardly believe that he's entrusting me with this privilege.  I pray I do it justice.