Governor Culver signed a resolution at the Capitol establishing a commission which will work to coordinate efforts to preserve and relocate the USS Iowa, the last battleship in its class.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette followed the event:
Supporters of the USS Iowa launched a new effort Monday to preserve the storied battleship as a national museum and memorial.
“It’s really important,” said Gary Marlin, a former sailor from Winterset who served aboard the USS Iowa from 1956 to 1958.
Marlin was among a crowd of veterans, state officials, schoolchildren and other interested Iowans who gathered near an encased replica of the battleship on display at the state Capitol to watch Gov. Chet Culver sign a resolution establishing a 10-member commission to coordinate efforts for the preservation and relocation of the USS Iowa.
The battleship – built in 1943 at a cost of $120 million and decommissioned in 1990 — currently is berthed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisan Bay near San Francisco and is awaiting donation to a not-for-profit organization for use as a museum ship.