This is one that has been in the works for months, and it came out great! Big thanks to producer Steven Louie and reporter Mike Taibbi for putting it together!

USS Iowa, the last battleship, filled with memories as it arrives at new home

After decades of action and several stints in mothballs, the USS Iowa has found a new home in San Pedro, Calif., where she will become a museum. The Iowa, one of America’s last battleships, has a storied past that includes tours in World War II, Korea, and the Cold War.

She was the first of four fast battleships built during World War II, giving the name “Iowa” to her class.  “The Iowas were the fastest U.S. battleships at [40 mph],” said Paul Stillwell, a naval historian who served aboard the New Jersey. And with nine 16-inch guns the Iowas were, in Stillwell’s words, “beautiful, fast, awesome and inspiring.”

Besides the Iowa and New Jersey, the other two completed in the class were the Missouri and the Wisconsin.

Read the rest of the piece and see the story that ran on the July 4 broadcast!