SHIP SILVER SERVICE RETURNED TO STATE

Cape Girardeau's David Hahs said the USS Missouri's elegant silver service, welcomed home Saturday in Jefferson City, represents a sentimental token of state pride in the famous battleship's sterling service record.

Hahs, who resigned last July as a commander and public affairs officer for the U.S. Naval Reserve, was invited to attend the special ceremony to "give back" to the state the 317 pieces of silver that stand as a reminder of the battleship's proud past.

Although he was unable to attend Saturday's ceremony, Hahs said he was happy to see the silver returned to Missouri.

"I was invited and attended the recommissioning ceremony of the USS Missouri in 1986 after it had been decommissioned since the 1950s," he said.

Hahs spent two weeks of active duty training on the USS Missouri in Long Beach, Calif. He said the silver service was used by the battleship's officers in ceremonies for nearly 50 years.

The service set was represented during Capitol ceremonies Saturday by a massive punch bowl, most recently used in Hawaii during observances of the 50th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Hahs said the silver set nearly remained in the state when the USS Missouri was recommissioned in 1986.

"The silver service had been given to the State Capitol when the Missouri was decommissioned the first time," he said. "Then when it went back to being commissioned again, the officers kind of half-way suggested to the state of Missouri that it should give back the silver service while the ship was in use.

"The governor's wife at the time was not really willing to do that, so some letters were written and the suggestion was made that the thing to do would be to give the service back to the Navy."

Hahs said the memento from the Missouri the last battleship built by the United States serves as a source of pride for residents of the state it was named after.

Nicknamed "Mighty Mo" and launched in 1944, the battleship and its crew of 1,500 saw action during World War II and Korea before its first decommissioning in 1955.

A year ago, the Missouri took part in the Persian Gulf War, where 95 percent of the 783 16-inch rounds fired fell within 500 yards of their targets, the Navy said.

Five decades ago, the battleship played a key role in World War II. The ship fought at the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. And the war officially ended Sept. 2, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered to the General Douglas McArthur and the allied forces on the deck of the USS Missouri.

"I think there's a lot of state pride involved in keeping reminders of the Missouri here," said Hahs. "The significance comes from a pride that was initiated in World War II, when it was decided to name the most powerful surface vessels after states."

He said many residents of the states symbolized by the great battleships shared in the honors they earned.

"The battleships are the biggest ships in the surface Navy, and during World War II they were the pride of the Navy," Hahs said. "Some argue that today the aircraft carriers are the pride and the more valuable vessel, but the battleships were certainly the kingpin of World War II.

"And no recognition of the Missouri could be made without mentioning the famous signing of the Japanese surrender on board to end World War II. That's her niche in history."

The silver from the ship will be displayed in Jefferson City, according to Gov. John Ashcroft.

The Missouri, based at Long Beach, Calif., is the fourth warship named for the state.

First to bear the state's name was a wooden, steam-powered paddle-wheeler commissioned in the 1840s. The second was commissioned by the Confederacy in 1863, and the third was at sea during World War I and was decommissioned in 1919.

The Missouri's silver is comprised of two sets, according to Navy officials. The original silver was aboard the World War I-era vessel. The second set was presented as a gift from the state, bought with a $10,000 appropriation from the Legislature in 1947.

Eventually, Missouri is to receive another gift from the ship: its 1,800-pound bell, which is being refinished after crashed to the deck in rough seas en route to Hawaii.

Deactivation of the USS Missouri began Jan. 6 in Long Beach, Calif., where the ship is docked. The ship formally will be mothballed March 31, when it is towed to a naval shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., to be maintained along with other inactive vessels.

Some information for this article was provided by the Associated Press.