Mobile, Alabama: 
USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park

This beautiful facility, with its noted rose gardens, is home to the Battleship USS ALABAMA, also known as the "Mighty A," and the Submarine USS DRUM.

Mobile area school children raised $100,000 to have the USS Alabama towed to the Battleship Memorial Park, in 1964, from Bremerton, Washington, where it was "moth balled." This process, "moth balling," is used to store ships that are not being used, for protection against weather damage in case they have to go back into action. At 5,600 miles, the Battleship still holds the longest non-military ton/mile tow in history.

During a tour, visitors can see memorabilia from the Mighty A’s action seen in the Atlantic Fleet and the Pacific Fleet in mid-1943 and her battles in Leyte, the Gilbert Islands and Okinawa. You can also read and view pictures of her as she led the American Fleet into Tokyo Bay. The Battleship USS ALABAMA received nine World War II Battle Stars.

In May of 1995, the park opened the Aircraft Pavilion. This site features such aircraft as "Calamity Jane," a B-52 Stratofortress which served with the Strategic Air Command (SAC), the A-12 "Blackbird" spyplane, and the P51-D Mustang Redtail, which was flown by the Tuskegee Airmen. Within the pavilion, you can also experience the wonders of flight on the park’s flight simulator. Once cleared of the aircraft, this facility can be used for social and organizational receptions.