The USS Alabama Battleship
National Park
by Justine-Elise Bouchard
The Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum located in the United States in Alabama on the western shore of Mobile Bay. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ships including the Battleship USS Alabama and submarines such as the USS Drum. The USS Alabama is a South Dakota-class battleship in service with the US Navy during World War II. It was launched in 1942 and serves on the Atlantic theater of operations and the Pacific. The USS Drum also served during the Second World War. Drum arrived at Pearl Harbor from the East Coast on the first of April 1942.The park as a whole, was created on October 28, in 1977. Citizens of the state of Alabama had formed the "USS Alabama Battleship Commission" to raise funds for the preservation of Alabama as a memorial to the men and women who served in World War II (1939-1945). Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina caused more than $7 million in damages to Battleship Memorial Park on August 29, in 2005. It almost completely destroyed the aircraft pavilion and forced the park to temporarily close for repairs. It reopened on January 9, in 2006.
Sources :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Drum_(SS-228)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Memorial_Park#History
