USS Missouri (BB-63) - Palm Springs Air Museum - Exact Replicas on Waymarking.com

The Palm Springs Air Museum contains many WWII aircraft inside two hangers as well as a number of aircraft on display outside on the tarmac. The SE hanger contains aircraft and displays from the Asian Pacific Theater of the war. In the back part of the hanger are many small-scale replicas of WWII naval ships on display. This particular model replica is of the USS Missouri (BB-63), an Iowa class battleship and the third ship to be named in honor of the 'Show Me' state.

The Missouri received a total of 11 battle stars for service in World War II, Korea, and the Persian Gulf, and was finally decommissioned on 31 March 1992, but remained on the Naval Vessel Register until her name was struck in January 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Interesting facts:

Missouri was the last battleship built by the United States Navy

Missouri was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II on September 2, 1945

The music video for Cher's 'If I Could Turn Back Time' was filmed aboard Missouri and featured the ship's crew

The Palm Springs Air Museum is definitely worth the price of admission and visitors should leave with a new appreciation for those men and women who fought in WWII for preservation of democracy and against those who tried to destroy it (Germany, Japan and Italy).

*NOTE* I was told by volunteer staff that many planes and historical items often move around inside the hangers and outside on the tarmac, BUT they always stay within the museum, unless they are part of a visiting exhibition. Waymarkers should keep this in mind when searching for a particular waymark that I or someone else has posted on Waymarking.com. If, by chance, you cannot locate a particular waymark within the museum, please let me know and I'll contact the staff and inquire to its whereabouts. Thanks.