SAN FRANCISCO — A famed battleship that saw action during World War II and the Korean War and carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a wartime summit traveled along the California coast Sunday on its final voyage.
The iconic USS Iowa left San Francisco Bay on its way to its new home in Southern California.
Surrounded by pleasure boats and other vessels, the 887-foot long, 58,000-ton battle wagon was towed through the bay and passed under the Golden Gate Bridge about 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Crowds watched from both sides of the bridge as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sockeye provided an official escort and the San Francisco fire boat Phoenix led the way.
At the St. Francis Yacht Club on San Francisco’s shoreline, officers and crew members of the USS Decatur, outfitted in their dress whites, saluted as the Iowa drifted past.
Club members also honored the Iowa with a farewell gun salute and a signal flag message - “Farewell My Dear Friend.”
Front Section, Pages 4 on 05/28/2012