Project Update
Iowa State Legislature
Passes Resolution to Protect and Preserve U.S.S. Iowa
HSMPS and Mare Island named in the State resolution.
In an impressive and inspiring act, the Iowa State Legislature in May voted to support berthing the U.S.S. Iowa at Mare Island, Vallejo, California and recognized HSMPS as the best possible custodian. This resolution is singularly unique and representative of the intense pride the State of Iowa has for the U.S.S. Iowa. Never before in the annals of the United States Navy's ship donation has a state made such a definitive and strong endorsement for the support and placement of its namesake that cannot be berthed within the state. This resolution is wholly supported by Governor Culver and the State Department of Veterans Affairs. We at HSMPS could not be more proud. This demonstration of faith and resolution stands as an outstanding conviction that the U.S.S. Iowa will be preserved at Mare Island, Vallejo, CA.
The resolution follows below and can be view at this webaddress: http://coolice.legis.state.ia.us/Cool-ICE/default.asp?Category=billinfo&Service=Billbook&ga=83&hbill=SR19
SENATE RESOLUTION NO.19
1 2 BY KIBBIE, GRONSTAL, and McKINLEY
1 3 A Resolution to protect and preserve the battleship
1 4 USS Iowa.
1 5 WHEREAS, in the late 1930s grave threats emerged to
1 6 America’s seapower, as the Nazis began construction of
1 7 the 50,000 ton Bismarck and the Empire of Japan began
1 8 construction of a 71,000 ton leviathan, the Yamato;
1 9 and
1 10 WHEREAS, America countered those threats with the
1 11 45,000 ton “Iowa” class of fast battleships, the
1 12 ultimate in the evolution of the capital ship and also
1 13 its last hurrah; and
1 14 WHEREAS, BB 61, the USS Iowa, was built when a
1 15 generation of Americans, including many Iowans, united
1 16 in an enormous mission to stop the forces of
1 17 tyranny in World War II; and
1 18 WHEREAS, the battleship was completed in 1943,
1 19 serving our nation for over five decades in almost
1 20 every major deployment of our armed services, and was
1 21 President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s personal battleship,
1 22 outfitted with a Presidential cabin; and
1 23 WHEREAS, the USS Iowa completed her World War II
1 24 service in the Pacific theater anchored in Tokyo Bay
1 25 as part of the Japanese surrender ceremonies in 1945,
1 26 and later served in the Korean War; and
1 27 WHEREAS, the USS Iowa earned nine battle stars for
1 28 World War II service and two for Korean War service;
1 29 and
1 30 WHEREAS, the venerable ship was decommissioned for
2 1 the last time in 1990 and is currently berthed with
2 2 the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, near
2 3 San Francisco, California; and
2 4 WHEREAS, the State of Iowa has formally expressed
2 5 its support for the preservation of the USS Iowa, and
2 6 the Iowa and California congressional delegations have
2 7 worked to assure that the USS Iowa is placed at a
2 8 location that is in the best interest of our nation;
2 9 and
2 10 WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of the Navy has
2 11 declared the proposal of Historic Ships Memorial at
2 12 Pacific Square, a nonprofit corporation, to berth the
2 13 USS Iowa in the San Francisco Bay Area at historic
2 14 Mare Island, Vallejo, California, to be the sole
2 15 remaining viable bid for preserving the USS Iowa as a
2 16 museum and memorial; and
2 17 WHEREAS, former Governors Robert D. Ray and Terry
2 18 E. Branstad and former Governor and current United
2 19 States Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack
2 20 serve as honorary chairpersons of efforts to preserve
2 21 the USS Iowa as a national museum and memorial, truly
2 22 a source of pride for all Iowans; and
2 23 WHEREAS, those efforts include restoration of the
2 24 USS Iowa and future service as an educational museum
2 25 and tourist attraction, and perhaps, with her many
2 26 facilities still intact, service as an emergency
2 27 response center; and
2 28 WHEREAS, the restoration and preservation of the
2 29 USS Iowa will honor all veterans of the State of Iowa,
2 30 inspire youth, and educate the public; NOW THEREFORE
3 1 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate
3 2 supports current efforts to restore and preserve the
3 3 USS Iowa as a museum ship and a living memorial to all
3 4 those who served on her, and urges all Iowans to join
3 5 in these efforts.
3 6 LSB 2697SS 83
3 7 jr/rj/5.1