USS Missouri flags fly at half-mast for Margaret Truman
by: Derek Paivaposted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 at 04:39 PM
The flags of the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor are flying at half-mast today to honor the life of Margaret Truman Daniel. The only child of President Harry S. Truman died in Chicago, IL, on Tuesday. A singer, radio and television host and best-selling author, she was 83.
She is remembered by the Battleship Missouri’s staff and volunteers for christening the “Mighty Mo” exactly 64 years ago yesterday. Then just 19, Margaret Truman launched the ship into service by smashing a bottle of champagne on its hull at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. Her father—then a Missouri senator—gave a speech at the Jan. 29, 1944 ceremony.
The photos, on the right, show Margaret Truman christening the Mo; and enjoying lunch with a few of the battleship’s sailors in 1947.
She recently recalled her memory of the latter.
“It was fun. I was the only woman around.”
Indeed.
Photos courtesy of the U.S. Navy
Check out these related HawaiiMagazine.com posts:
Pearl Harbor’s Battleship Missouri Memorial closing for repairs until January 2010
Hawaii’s new “Flags of Our Nation” stamp debuts
Japanese Band Plays USS Missouri Memorial
Web Extras
