As the last battleship commissioned before the start of World War 2 the USS West Virginia was down but never out. The USS West Virginia present on battleship row when on the early Sunday morning of December 7th, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor she was at berth.
The USS Vest Virginia was nicknamed the “Wee Vee” and it was a fitting name created by the ship’s crew. Stepping up with her 8 16 inch (406mm) guns made her one of the most powerful battleships of the day. The 4th of the Colorado class dreadnaughts but since the 4th ship of the class was never constructed she ultimately became the 3rd and final ship of the class. Launched 17 November 1921 and decommissioned 9 January 1949 she was famous for her presence at the time of the attack. She was sunk, then raised and then she fought valiantly in a variety of battles during the balance of WW2 in the Pacific. That is why we say the USS West Virginia BB-48 was down but never out.
Island Hopping Campaigns
The US Marines fought all over the Pacific and moved from one island occupied by the Japanese to another. Tarawa, Guadalcanal, Solomon’s, Gilbert Islands, Marianas, Wake, Peleliu were just some of these battles. The USS West Virginia, little “Wee Vee” were at the battles of Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima and Okinawa as we drew closer and closer to the very heart of the Japanese Empire.
First Sunk Then Raised
Of the US battleships that were struck on December 7th, 1941 only 2 battleships remained suck after the attack: the USS Arizona and the USS Utah. Survivors of those ships are the only ones who have the option to be laid to rest this way. Most of the ships hit that day were repaired and put back into service or scrapped. The USS West Virginia was one of the US Navy battleships raised and returned to service.
The USS Virginia Battleships of Pearl Harbor 80th Anniversary Coin
Because of the importance of the 80th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor a series of coins that each features each of the most famous battleships to serve in the US Navy, all present at the time of the attack, are preserved in challenge coin form. Historical data from the tonnage the armament, the nicknames, ship class, date of commission and sinking or decommissioning, hull number and size are identified on coin side a. The reverse side of the Battleships of Pearl Harbor 80th Anniversary Coins depicts the enemy Zeroes and dive bombers in attack formation over the horizon with the rays of the sun appearing as well.
This collection of these seven battleships are: USS California (BB-44), USS Maryland (BB-46), USS Oklahoma (BB-37) – outboard, USS Tennessee (BB-43), with USS West Virginia (BB-48) – outboard, astern Tennessee was USS Arizona (BB-39) and the USS Nevada (BB-36) last in line.
Each battleship coin was methodically designed and crafted adding to the authenticity each US Navy coin represents. Own one or all of these 7 battleship coins for each of the battleships on battleship row and own a piece of US Navy history and a “Day That Will Live in Infamy”.
