U.S. MUST REMAIN READY AGAINST FOREIGN THREATS

Missouri lost one of its proudest namesakes last week ... or perhaps it has only been displaced for a while. A storied American battleship, the USS Missouri, was decommissioned in Long Beach, Calif., a victim of changing politics abroad and fiscal trepidation at home. It isn't enough really that Americans, and particularly Missourians, take pride in what was accomplished by "Mighty Mo" and her brave crew members; it is critical, though, that we remember the freedom this great ship helped protect, and that the nation stand ready, with or without this vessel, to guard itself against foreign threats.

It was perhaps only the luck of the draw that the battleship that bears this state's name found its way to such glory. Launched from a Brooklyn shipyard in 1944, the 58,000-ton Missouri would in the next year survive World War II battles off Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan. On the dreadnought's deck Sept. 2, 1945, the Japanese signed a surrender document ending World War II. The Missouri also saw combat duty in the Korean War, before being decommissioned in 1955. Thirty-one years later, the battleship, modernized at a cost of $350 million, was brought out of mothballs and into active service. In Operation Desert Storm last year, it fired hundreds of 2,000-pound shells at Iraqi forces.

None of this is to say Missourians have a parochial claim on decisions made in trimming the nation's military budget. We concede this country must acknowledge in some way changing global circumstances. The foremost military menace of this century, the Soviet Union and its satellites, no longer exists. Our military must reflect this; some of the money used to guard against the Soviet threat can now be safely diverted to other uses.

However, there is danger inherent in allowing the pendulum to swing too far. Complaisance in the place of vigilance offers a quick and sure formula for placing our nation's security at risk. While Eastern Bloc threats have dissolved, the Mighty Mo's last combat came in the Middle East, a region whose military dynamics are unpredictable. It is fitting that the USS Missouri's final mission was sailing to Hawaii for the 50th anniversary commemoration of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. No setting could be more appropriate for strengthening our resolve that the United States will never again be caught unprepared.

Veterans of three wars paid their respects to the USS Missouri last week, and many of these courageous sailors shed tears over her retirement. Some of the comments were telling. One vice admiral said, "She will now sleep the sleep of heroes, but must be ready to answer the call of arms as she has done in the past." The USS Missouri, which brought pride to our state, is indeed worthy of its hero status. And, indeed, it may one day prove necessary to bring her back to battle readiness. A 59-year-old Korean War veteran of the ship said last week, "I just hope we can get her back some day." Our hope is that day will never come, but grim lessons of history tell us that it might.