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Planned to open in 2025 aboard Battleship USS Iowa. Become a Plank Owner today.
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USS Iowa’s history began in 1943 and continues through today.
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Battleship USS Iowa is a community platform leveraged for engaging and impactful programs. We focus our activities into three primary pillars; education, veterans, and community.
- Education programs and resources inspire future leaders.
- Veterans programs and resources empower those who served.
- Community programs and resources strengthen our community.
Support your favorite pillar today by donating or by becoming a volunteer.
#OTD in 1943, King Neptune paid his first visit to a bunch of slimy pollywogs aboard #BattleshipIOWA.
What does that mean? Today marks the 78th anniversary of the first time USS IOWA crossed the Equator. All sorts of traditions abound for the "line crossing" ceremony. We'd tell you about them... but they're secret (and most aren't fit for discussion in polite company).
So where are our shellbacks? Tell us where you crossed the line in the comments.
#surfacenavymuseum #shellbackceremony #equatorcrossing
It's "Black Friday." Forget the mall... Come to Battleship IOWA! Stroll our decks, soak in some sunshine and fresh air... and even pick up a few gifts.
Give your loved ones tickets to visit the "Battleship of Presidents or hit up our Ship's Store for truly unique items. (Website link in bio will take you to both.)
#battleshipiowa #surfacenavymuseum #blackfriday2021 #holidayshopping #outdoors
What's on your menu for Thanksgiving? Here's a sampling of the fare aboard USS IOWA back on her first one.
Your #BattleshipIOWA crew wishes you and your loved ones all the best. Have a safe, blessed holiday!
#surfacenavymuseum #thanksgiving2021 #navalhistory
What do the items in this photo have to do with our latest museum update? Guess you’re going to have to hit up our Weekly Updates highlight to find out! 😉😁😎
#battleshipiowa surfacenavymuseum #lamuseum #update
Our volunteers are a group of amazing, dedicated individuals. Every few months, we hold a special ceremony to honor that dedication. Everyone who hits a thousand hour mark of service to the ship has a chance to ring the bell on IOWA's fo'c's'le.
This month's cadre included:
- Bob Abelson: 1,000 hours
- Todd Columbus: 1,000 hours
- Orlo Brown: 2,000 hours
- Battleship Larry: 4,000 hours
- Jeff Armendariz: 4,000 hours
- Jim Kurrasch: 4,000 hours
- Capt Rich Abele: 6,000 hours
- Jim Gauderman: 6,000 hours
- Greg Garnett: 8,000 hours
Thanks and bravo zulu to all!
Want to join this extraordinary team? Sign up to volunteer. Website link in bio.
#battleshipiowa #surfacenavymuseum #volunteer #volunteerism #service
Today we’ve got something pretty special aboard #BattleshipIOWA. Not one, but two pinning ceremonies for new Navy chiefs. These emotional promotions are tremendously meaningful to those who experience them; some call them a rebirth.
Congrats to all of today’s honorees.
NAVY CHIEF. NAVY PRIDE.
Have something special you’d like to celebrate? Hold your event here. (Website link in bio.)
#SurfaceNavyMuseum #usnavy #NavyChiefNavyPride
Hit up our Weekly Updates highlight for the latest from CEO Jonathan Williams.
#battleshipiowa #surfacenavymuseum #news #update
This ship is the Fletcher class destroyer USS WILLIAM D PORTER - also known as the “Willie D.” On November 14, 1943 she fired a LIVE TORPEDO at the then practically new battleship USS IOWA.
What was going on? Did the torpedo hit IOWA? Why was Willie D shooting in the first place? Drop your guesses in the comments...
Or come visit the ship and we’ll tell you... while you stand on the decks where it happened. (Link to purchase tickets online in bio.)
For more info on the Willie D - the “unluckiest ship in the US Navy,” copy/paste this link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Gb4PakFTU
#battleshipiowa #surfacenavymuseum #surfacenavy #history #navalhistory #WWII
We're back with another MUSEUM UPDATE. This one's packed with fun, including a preview of tomorrow's VETERANS DAY WEST celebration and an interview with Volunteer Manager SUE SCHMIDT, who shares her earliest days aboard Battleship IOWA.
It's a story that boasts dark passageways and Carhartt pants - you know it's gonna be good!
Link in our Weekly Updates highlight.
#battleshipiowa #surfacenavymusuem #VeteransDay2021 #veterans #Update
Happy VETERANS DAY from Battleship IOWA! Today we celebrate and honor all those who have served and sacrificed to protect the freedoms we so deeply cherish.
Take a moment today not just to thank veterans, but to find out about them. The interest you show in their personal stories will be far more meaningful than a simple thank you. 💖🙏
And if you’d like to do more, please consider a donation in support of our veterans programming. Link in bio.
#veterans #VeteransDay2021 #battleshipiowa #surfacenavymusuem
Happy Birthday to the United States Marine Corps. Congrats and thank you for 246 years of service. Semper Fi, Marines!
#battleshipiowa #battleshipiowamuseum #SurfaceNavyMuseum #marinecorpbirthday #history
This morning we had the privilege of hosting the swearing in of seventy-five new United States citizens.
These ceremonies are inspiring. Every one of these individuals has a unique story and each made the decision to adopt this country as their home. Battleship IOWA Museum is proud to be the backdrop for this incredibly special moment in their lives and happy to welcome them as fellow citizens.
#battleshipiowa #SurfaceNavyMuseum #USCIS
Why is volunteer coordinator extraordinaire SUE SCHMIDT smiling so broadly? Because it's #NationalVolunteerCoordinatorDay!
But wait - there's more! She's also celebrating the ten year anniversary of the day she joined the ship!
If you're aboard today, make sure to stop by and give this hard-working, incredibly dedicated lady some love. She's a big part of the glue that holds this family together and she does it all with grace and humor. We're lucky to have her!
Don't know Sue? Clearly you need to sign up to volunteer with us. Hit up the link tree in our bio for more info.
#battleshipiowa #SurfaceNavyMuseum #volunteer #thankyou
Change of Command ceremony at Battleship IOWA. Never a dull day at Battleship IOWA. Today we’re hosting a change of command ceremony for Navy Talent Acquisition Group, Pacific. Cool to see the navy all dressed up on the ship.
Looking to host an event in a completely unique environment? Give us a shout. Link to website in bio.
#battleshipiowa #SurfaceNavyMuseum #usnavy
Battleship IOWA is moored in the heart of the Port of Los Angeles, across from the Evergreen terminal, and we watch shipping traffic move in and out of the harbor daily.
Of late the entire country has become acutely aware of the impact the movements of these goods have on our lives. Imagine what might happen if we didn't have the US Navy and Coast Guard to protect the freedom of the seas.
From its 1775 inception America's surface navy has been charged with ensuring that commerce and travel on the world's waterways remain safe, but the stories of generations of sailors involved in this vital service have gone untold. The National Museum of the Surface Navy aims to preserve the memories of these brave individuals and educate the public on the role they and their ships have played in the fabric of our way of life.
Join us as a Plank Owner today (link in bio) and be a part of the journey from the beginning.
#battleshipiowa #surfacenavymuseum #surfacenavy #usnavy #history #preservation
Time for the latest around Battleship IOWA from CEO Jonathan Williams. This week's update includes a recap of recent successes (like 900 attendees at our Halloween STEMebration!), an introduction, and a deeply personal reflection.
Link in our Weekly Updates highlight.
#battleshipiowa #SurfaceNavyMuseum #freedomoftheseas #memories #weightlossjourney #veterans
For this Halloween Sunday, we're bringing you DOUBLE the fun-day!
We got both CEO Jonathan Williams and CIO David Canfield to share some of their TEN YEAR anniversary memories.
Check them out in our IOWA BTS highlight.
When you finish these smile-inducing videos, head over to the Surface Navy Museum website and join us - for free! - as a Plank Owner so you can be a part of the extraordinary work that's happening around Battleship IOWA over the next decade. (Link in video descriptions.)
#battleshipiowa #SurfaceNavyMuseum #freedomoftheseas #tenyearanniversary #GhostFleet #memories
Oct 28, 2011: Day 2 of freeing Battleship IOWA from the Suisun Bay "ghost fleet."
This leg of the tow was less risky and less stressful than the first. No shallow water or low bridges to navigate. It was about a four hour journey through the Carquinez Strait and down the bay to Richmond, CA. Our team even got to enjoy a stretch where the tugs had IOWA clipping along at 7 knots.
Once the ship was tied up in Richmond, the reality of, "We have a battleship. Now what?" set in. No money, no staff, no vendors, no power, no water, unfamiliar city... Though our team had just pulled off something improbable, there was still a mountain ahead - like being at the South Col of Everest with the summit pyramid still looming.
Richmond would become an incredible story of its own - the transformation and rebirth of a legendary ship, and the hard work, hardship, and shared passion that forged her new crew.
You can be part of Battleship IOWA's next evolution: her role as home to the National Museum of the Surface Navy. Get in from the start: become a Plank Owner today! Link in bio.
#battleshipiowa #surfacenavymuseum #memories #tenyearanniversary #navy #ghostfleet
10 Year Anniversary - The Tow Out Of Suisun Bay: Mike Getscher Part 1. Today - October 27, 2021 - marks the TENTH ANNIVERSARY of the day we freed Battleship IOWA from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet. You've seen the epic videos and photos. Now, COO Mike Getscher takes you behind the scenes and shares some of the little-known technical details involved in a process those videos make look so easy.
#battleshipiowa #surfacenavymuseum #tenyearanniversary #usnavy #bathymetry
Special day here at Battleship IOWA. We're celebrating ten years since we freed the ship from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet.
Definitely feeling the emotion of this morning: we did the impossible and we continue to do it. This ship is so much more than a museum. Come join us and experience it for yourself.
#battleshipiowa #tenyearanniversary #SurfaceNavyMuseum #usnavy #GhostFleet
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