Saturday, June 09, 2012

Escorted by tugboats, the USS Iowa makes her way to Berth 87 at San Pedro's waterfront on June 9, 2012.
Brittany Murray / The Daily Breeze

Welcome home, USS Iowa! Earlier today, the famous battleship was finally towed to her final resting spot at Berth 87 near the Port of Los Angeles. The new addition to San Pedro's waterfront will be commissioned on July 4...while the Iowa will officially open to the public as an interactive naval museum a few days later on July 7. While I mentioned above that Berth 87 is the Iowa's final resting spot, The Daily Breeze website states that the contract between the U.S. Navy and the Pacific Battleship Center (which was responsible for getting the Iowa to Southern California) stipulates that the World War II-era vessel needs to essentially stay in battle-shape (the Iowa is still bristling with relatively modern Tomahawk and Harpoon missile launchers, plus Phalanx anti-aircraft Gatling guns) till 2020—in the event of a national emergency. While the re-commissioning of Iowa to sail to hotspots such as Syria or North Korea (again) remains unlikely, it's nice to see that the Pentagon is keeping all of its options to deal with global conflicts open.

Check out these awesome photos that were posted in The Daily Breeze Media Center. Click on that link to view more pics.

Escorted by tugboats, the USS Iowa makes her way to Berth 87 at San Pedro's waterfront on June 9, 2012.
Brittany Murray / The Daily Breeze

Spectators on a tall-masted ship watch as the USS Iowa makes her way to Berth 87 at San Pedro's waterfront, on June 9, 2012.
Brittany Murray / The Daily Breeze

Passing underneath the Vincent Thomas Bridge, the USS Iowa makes her way to Berth 87 at San Pedro's waterfront...on June 9, 2012.
Brittany Murray / The Daily Breeze

Passing underneath the Vincent Thomas Bridge, the USS Iowa makes her way to Berth 87 at San Pedro's waterfront...on June 9, 2012.
Brittany Murray / The Daily Breeze

Hundreds of people gather on USS Iowa's decks as she makes her way to Berth 87 at San Pedro's waterfront, on June 9, 2012.
Brittany Murray / The Daily Breeze

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