Historical Highlight

Wisconsin's largest war hero, the USS "Wisconsin" battleship, earned its first battle star on this date in 1944 while fighting in the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. The "Wisconsin" was commissioned in Philadelphia the previous April and departed for the war zone in the Pacific. It took part in raids against Luzon, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan. The mighty battleship was decommissioned in 1948 but brought back to active duty for the Korean War. It was once again decommissioned in 1958 and put into mothballs at the Philadelphia Naval Yards. In 1987, the "Wisconsin" was modernized and in 1988 the battleship was recommissioned. It took part in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, but later in the year, it was decommissioned once again and moved to the naval yard in Philadelphia. The "Wisconsin" was the last battleship ever made. It is now a floating museum in Norfolk, Virginia.