U.S.S. IOWA Arrives!
U.S.S. IOWA Arrives!
The "Big Stick" is towed into San Francisco Bay and the Navy is back!
Trademark 2002
Nothing less than spectacular was IOWA’s Midnight Arrival at the Golden
Gate Bridge on Friday, April 20. One of the greatest ships ever
launched by the American People was transiting under a bridge many label an
engineering marvel of the 20th Century. The Cities of Oakland and San
Francisco were contacted by HSMPS and dedicated several fireboats to greet
IOWA. The City of San Rafael police boat also joined the welcoming
committee. Enormous water plumes shot hundreds of feet into the air,
illuminated by the fireboats’own floodlights as IOWA was escorted into San
Francisco Bay. To add to this dramatic scene, HSMPS hunted all over
California to rent 8,000 watts of brilliance generated by two enormous World War
II search lights. These incredibly powerful lights illuminated the
battleship’s magnificent silhouette from both the north and south ends of the
"Gate". The powerful beams, when not on IOWA,
formed a brilliant white arch over the Golden Gate Bridge from 11PM -2AM amid cheers from
thousands of spectators. Nearby roads were choked
with parked cars as people, some having driven hundreds of miles or flown
thousands of miles, streamed to bayside sites to see IOWA. Traffic on the
Golden Gate Bridge came to a rush hour crawl. It probably marks the
first midnight commemoration of a mobilization asset, if not a commissioned
vessel.
IOWA’s
arrival electrified the Bay Area news media--Aided by a HSMPS national
news
release, dozens of news segments aired and days of front page coverage appeared
in leading newspapers. IOWA’s relocation received broad media coverage in
national and regional print, broadcast, and television media. Television
stations 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 20 covered the battleship’s arrival in San
Francisco Bay on Friday, April 20, and her tow to Suisun Bay on Saturday, April
21. The reporting continued for another two days. IOWA’s midnight
arrival and transit to Suisun Bay was covered live with on the spot descriptions
and interviews with former crew members. San Francisco radio stations KSFO
and Des Moines station Radio IOWA also broadcast news of IOWA’s arrival.
Newspapers San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, Contra Costa Times,
Marin Independent Journal, Sacramento Bee, Press Democrat, San Jose Mercury
News, San Diego Union Tribune, Los Angeles Times among others gave extensive,
very favorable coverage. Associated Press wrote a great article and
published a number of photographs of IOWA’s San Francisco Bay transit. AOL
carried photo’s of IOWA, featured on their CBS News site. The French and
Chinese media were also present for IOWA’s homeporting.
The
Air Show on Saturday, April 21, honored IOWA before thousands of Bay Area
residents in the City of Benicia as the battleship approached Suisun Bay.
An Air Force KC-10 tanker, arranged for by Marin County Council Navy League and
HSMPS, made dazzling, low level passes over IOWA as members of the
national press, in helicopters and on the ground, stared in amazement. The
Confederate Air Force sortied four aircraft, including a P-51 Mustang. So
crowded was the waterfront that one Navy League President was forced to park two
miles away to get a glimpse of IOWA. U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats and
pleasure craft were everywhere to be seen. Bridge traffic over the Benicia
Bridge was at a crawl as IOWA was towed under the bridge. Even AMTRAK
trains running along the Bay slowed and sounded their horns. Unfortunately, the
Navy air demonstration to honor IOWA, approved by the service’s Chief of
Information, Admiral Stephen Pietropaoli, could not be generated by the naval
aviation community.
History
came alive when the
Presidential Yacht POTOMAC, which Franklin Delano
Roosevelt used to embark upon IOWA, trailed the procession to Suisun Bay.
A personal vestige to the late President, just like the bathtub installed on
IOWA, the POTOMAC carried veterans, families, friends and press. She was the
platform for a major television station’s coverage of the historic arrival of
"President Roosevelt’s battleship" and added grace and history
to this amazing day. For HSMPS staff, it was a great to work
with the POTOMAC.
IOWA was honored in a professional and imaginative manner. Her arrival offered a golden opportunity to highlight a proud naval legacy in an area steeped in naval heritage and tradition. The results were singularly unique and favorable for the service. The community is proud of IOWA and the Navy. Moreover, the community appreciates the Navy’s decision to return to the Bay Area by relocating one of our nation’s most treasured assets near America’s most visited City. HSMPS staff and supporters will never forget this day, one of the best in their lives.
To help us continue with the project of preparing an educational and museum program for students about IOWA (while she is in reserve status) as well as funding preparations for IOWA as a memorial and museum upon her retirement from the reserves, please consider becoming a donor member or providing services. Your help is needed. Refer to our Ship's Store and Membership page and thank you.
To see additional photographs of IOWA's arrival, click here.