[ Contents | Search | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Mike Mullins (Curator)
Date: 02 Jun 2001
Time: 16:13:59
Rusty,
West Virginia entered her final stages of inactivation in the latter part of February 1946 and was decommissioned on January 7, 1947 and placed in reserve, as part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She never again received the call to active duty, remaining inactive until struck from the Navy list on March 1, 1959. On August 24, 1959, she was sold for scrapping to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corp. of New York City. (taken from the ship's history).
It's quite a shame. The only battleship to be both at Pearl Harbor and Tokyo deserved a better ending. IMHO, I think the surrender should have been signed on the WeeVee, but Truman was from Missouri!