laststandonzombieisland

Some 65 years ago this week, the main mast of the famed Pearl Harbor phoenix battlewagon, USS West Virginia (Battleship No. 48), arrived at WVU’s campus in Morgantown on 17 March 1961, thanks to fundraising efforts by the university’s students—many of whom grew up during the war.

Commissioned on 1 December 1923, the 16-inch gunned Colorado-classed West Virginia, although sunk at Pearl Harbor and missing much of the war during her raising and reconstruction, nevertheless earned five battle stars in 223 days of Pacific theatre combat, well exhibiting the fighting spirit of the ship and her crew.

Original layout of USS West Virginia in the Panama Canal. Late 1920s

USS West Virginia (BB-48). Off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington, 2 July 1944, following reconstruction. 19-N-68376 

She fought in the great Surigao Strait battleship night clash, fired nearly 2,865 16-inch shells and 23,880 5-inch shells in naval gunfire support during the Leyte, Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa campaigns; and fired another 33,000 AAA rounds — 40mm (11,041) and 20mm (21,759) — at enemy aircraft, downing eight and assisting with another 12 shootdowns. A kamikaze hit her in April 1945, but she was fully operational an hour later. Following her service, she returned 7,000 veterans home from the Far East on a Magic Carpet ride, steaming 71,600 nm during her WWII 1943-45 career.

Decommissioned on 9 January 1947 and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet after a history-spanning 23-years, she never received the recall to active duty, remaining in mothballs until she was struck from the Navy Register on 1 March 1959. On 24 August 1959, she was sold for scrapping to the Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. of New York City, but many of her relics were removed and preserved.

Today, her mast, dedicated in 1963, remains on display in front of WVU’s Oglebay Hall on the Downtown Campus, while the university maintains an exhibit featuring smaller items and a scale model. WVU also maintains an extensive photograph collection of the ship.

One of her anti-aircraft guns remains on display in City Park in Parkersburg, WV; her wheel and binnacle are on display at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, and her bell is on display at the West Virginia State Museum in Charleston.