USS Kidd - WWII Destroyer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

USS Kidd and Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, Louisiana

One of my favorite Southern scenes is the view of the historic World War II warship USS Kidd framed by downtown Baton Rouge from the I-10 bridge over the Mississippi River.

Now a museum and memorial, the destroyer was built and launched in New Jersey in 1943. Named for Rear Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd, Sr., who was killed when his flagship - the battleship USS Arizona - was destroyed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

USS Kidd

The crew of the ship, however, always enjoyed their association with another "Captain Kidd," the famed pirate or privateer of the late 17th century. A swashbuckling caricature of the pirate graces the funnel of the ship and the USS Kidd was the only U.S. Navy warship ever authorized to fly the infamous "Jolly Roger" pirate flag.

The Kidd spent most of her World War II career in the Pacific. She was one of the destroyers that escorted the battleship USS Alabama to Pearl Harbor and took part in fighting throughout the island hopping campaign waged by the U.S. across the Pacific. At one point she closed to within 11 miles of the Japanese mainland.

Learn more about this historic warship and find out how she came to become part of the Baton Rouge cityscape: http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/usskidd.

National Naval Aviation Museum & 100 Years of Naval Aviation

World War II Aircraft

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the year that the U.S. Navy first took to the air.  That entire span of history can be viewed at the outstanding National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.
Located on board Naval Air Station, Pensacola, the museum preserves aircraft and artifacts from all eras of Naval Aviation. Exhibits range from displays of the earliest types of aircraft flown by the U.S. Navy to the reconstructed deck of an aircraft carrier to artifacts from the exploration of space. It is a little known fact that the first American in space, Alan B. Shepard, was a naval aviator.

Jet Fighters

The museum offers a chance for visitors to get up close to some of the most powerful weapons of war ever created. Fighter planes from all eras of the 20th century are on display, along with trainers and other aircraft. From jet fighters that saw service around the world to World War II planes recovered from the deep and even the biplane trainer flown by President George H.W. Bush, the aircraft displays are remarkable and fascinating.

Visitors to the National Naval Aviation Museum can also experience what it is like to fly in some of the U.S. Navy's top aircraft thanks to MaxFlight 360 flight simulators. These remarkable simulators offer the chance to "fly" in 3D and feel what it is like to be in air to air combat.

The museum also preserves and displays artifacts and exhibits that tell the stories of heroism exhibited by some of America's finest pilots and crews in conflicts including World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East campaigns.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/navalaviationmuseum.

Pearl Harbor Day - December 7, 1941

It was 68 years ago today that Japanese aircraft and submarines carried out an unprovoked attack on the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it was "a date which will live in infamy."

Beginning that Sunday morning, three waves of Japanese aircraft as well as a small group of submarines attacked both military and civilian targets in Hawaii. It was an attack carried out without warning and without a declaration of war by the Empire of Japan. By the time the fighting was over, 2,345 U.S. servicemen and women and 57 civilians had been killed. Another 1,282 were wounded.

It was the attack that mobilized the Greatest Generation - men, women and children - to stand up for their country and win a war that preserved freedom for the citizens of our own country and many other countries fore 68 years (and counting). I have had the honor, in my life, of knowing several Pearl Harbor survivors and I remember them today with great respect.

There are many places across the South where you can learn more about World War II and the men and women who fought it. Almost every community in our region has either a World War II memorial or the graves of World War II veterans in its cemeteries. Here are a few that might be of interest:

• Battleship U.S.S. Alabama - Mobile, Alabama


• Fort Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore - Pensacola, Florida


• National Naval Aviation Musem - Pensacola, Florida


• F.D.R.'s Little White House - Warm Springs, Georgia


• Fort Gibson National Cemetery - Fort Gibson, Oklahoma


• Fort Moultrie - Sullivan's Island, South Carolina