The USS Missouri Memorial Association presented a plaque made from the original deck of the USS Missouri, or Mighty Mo, to representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Dec. 5, 2014, in honor of the 15 years and approximately 27,000 hours of volunteered service by LDS missionaries and local members. Elder Daniel L. Johnson, of the Quorum of the Seventy, and President Stephen R. Warner, president of the Honolulu Hawaii Mission, accepted the plaque at the presentation ceremony along with 50 missionaries. According to Mormon Newsroom, Association President and CEO Michael A. Carr expressed his gratitude for the service of the LDS Church stating that, “their generous help was equal on our books to almost half a million dollars worth of in-kind services. The ship would not look like it does and be where it is today without volunteer help in general and, specifically, the work of the LDS volunteers.”During the ceremony, Elder Johnson thanked the association for giving missionaries and church members this service opportunity and talked about the importance of serving. “You cannot serve without loving,” said Johnson. “You can even love a battleship. As you serve one another, you come to love the people you serve. I hope as you serve on this ship…it will create something inside of you that will also help you value the freedom that this ship and others have helped to bring to us.”The USS Missouri was launched on Jan. 29,1944 and assigned to the Pacific Third Fleet during World War II. On Christmas Eve of 1944, the ship passed through Pearl Harbor before heading out to join American forces in the Pacific. Throughout the war, the battleship took part in the bombing raids over Tokyo, the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and it was on the decks of the battleship where Japanese officials surrendered thus ending World War II.The Missouri would continue its service during the Korean War, and after refurbishment and modernization, was deployed in the Gulf War in 1991. In 1992, the Missouri was decommissioned and made Pearl Harbor its permanent home, overlooking her fallen sister the USS Arizona.Missionaries and members of the LDS Church now provide volunteer service every Wednesday morning. Volunteers clean, sweep, wipe handrails, move material on and off the ship, as well as setting up and taking down chairs, banners and flags for programs and ceremonies. “I don’t really find it surprising that the church is being recognized for its longstanding commitment to service to the USS Missouri Memorial,” said Trinity Waddell, a junior from Dayton, Texas, studying bio-medical science. “They always have and always will help others in exemplary ways. But it’s nice to see recognition that could translate into missionary opportunities.”
Writer: Matthew Roberts~ Multimedia Journalist
