It's 'Anchors Aweigh' for new USS Iowa
Submarine will be commissioned into the U.S. Navy in April 5 ceremony
WATERLOO — Watch parties are being held around the state the first weekend in April — and not just for the Final Four of the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments.
This "big dance" is a sure thing for everyone in the state - a coming-out party for the state's newest namesake ship.
The submarine named for the state of Iowa will officially be accepted into service in the United States Navy at 9 a.m. Central time Saturday, April 5.
That's when the commissioning ceremonies for the new USS Iowa submarine, hull number SSN-797, will be held in Groton, Conn., where it was constructed. Watch parties are being held around the state, including one at the Grout Museum District’s Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloo.
The Virginia-class submarine, six years in the making, was christened in June 2023 by former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack, the ship's sponsor. It was still in drydock then but substantially completed.
Watch parties were held around the state for that event, including one at the Grout/Sullivan museums in Waterloo. This time, there's more than twice as many watch parties for the commissioning, said 20-year Navy veteran Tom Hudson of Des Moines, chairman of the commissioning committee. One additional Cedar Valley watch party location this time will be the Waverly Area Veterans Post in Waverly.
"We had about a dozen for the christening two years ago and I think we're at 26 or 27 for the commissioning," Hudson said. "We're trying to get out there quite a bit further and broader for the watch parties." Those parties were well attended, and organizers sensed more would have been.
"We knew there were whole parts of these state we just didn't have very well covered last time." Hudson said. :"We just made a little bit more concerted effort to get a little bit more of the nooks and crannies of the state."
"We probably expect anywhere from 10-15 to maybe 20-25 per location," Hudson said. The Grout/Sullivan location almost has a built-in group of regulars. It has a turnout of three dozen or more veterans for its weekly Wednesday morning free veteran coffees, many of whom also attend special museum events.
Also, "We also have almost 600 people from the state of Iowa who have requested tickets who plan to travel out and attend the ceremony in person," Hudson said. The christening was by invitation only in the shipyard.
"We have industry leaders: donors from various industries across Iowa. We have abour 115-120 people in that category. And then individual private citizens, almost 500, which will be great to have such a huge showing from the state of Iowa.”
Unlike the christening, the commissioning is open to the public. "They’re entitled to attend. It's part of their constitutional right as a taxpayer, basically," Hudson said.
Also attending will be about 65 to 70 Navy veterans who served on the battleship USS Iowa, hull number BB-61, which served from World War II through the 1980s and is now a museum ship at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, Calif. David Way, curator of the Battleship Iowa Museum there, said four of its staff members will attend the commissioning.
The USS Iowa submarine is the latest of several ships named for Iowa in the nation's history. An Iowa steamship was used to transport troops in the Civil War. The battleship USS Iowa BB-4 saw service in the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the USS Iowa BB-61, "The Gray Ghost," served in World War II, Korea and in the 1980s through 1990 patrolling the Persian Gulf. The state of Iowa paid $3 million toward the BB-61’s preservation before it was opened for public tours in 2012. Visiting Iowans may tour "The Gray Ghost" for free by simply displaying an Iowa driver license or state identification.
The Sullivan Brothers museum in Waterloo has a permanent exhibit on the BB-61, and is putting one together on its predecessor, the USS Iowa BB-4.
The submarine actually is at sea now, said Hudson, a submarine sailor himself for half his Navy career. "It's in the water and they're actually out to sea, completing various certifications and testings and trials. They won't get back to Groton until the very end of March, and they've been underway since the first week of January. They'll have almost 90 days of underwater time even before the commissioning.”
The christening is when the ship officially gets its United States Ship, or "USS" designation, and actually becomes part of the active Navy fleet, Hudson explained. "It's technically right now called ‘PCU Iowa,’ and that stands for ‘Pre-Construction Unit.’ The commissioning is when the ship officially joins the fleet as an active U.S. warship."
The crew runs on board and "brings the ship to life" as part of the commissioning ceremony, upon the command of ship sponsor Vilsack, Hudson explained.
"The crew will be alongside the pier, they'll all be in their dress uniforms, and during the ceremony the commanding officer will read his orders, received from the admiral of submarine Atlantic fleet forces,” Hudson said. “The ship's executive officer will be ordered to raise the commissioning pennant to officially commission the ship.
"The sponsor will yell, 'Captain, man your ship!' and the crew will run down the pier a short distance and along the gangway, and all assemble topside," he said. About a third of the crew will participate in that and others will have to be standing on watch inside the nuclear-powered craft. The total crew numbers about 135.
Kelly Sullivan, granddaughter and grandniece of the five Sullivan brothers who died together during World War II, is part of the commissioning committee. The submarine's official seal bears a shamrock in memory of the five brothers and their Irish heritage. Former First Lady Vilsack and crew members visited Waterloo for the annual Iowa Irish Fest celebration in August 2021.
“We're really excited to see this coming to a close pretty soon," Hudson said.
Pre-commissioning events include a barbecue by Big Moe Cason of Des Moines, a U.S. Navy veteran who served on the USS Iowa BB-61’s sister ship, the USS Missouri, and a post commissioning celebration will include many foods from the Iowa State Fair -- including, of course, various delicacies on a stick.
“We’re really just going to try to turn this thing into as much ‘Iowa’ as we can on the pier that morning,” Hudson said. “About the only thing we aren’t doing is hauling out the Butter Cow.”
But, he says, commissioning committee members are looking into having a butter USS Iowa submarine sculpted for the 2025 Iowa State Fair.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will be the featured speaker for the commissioning event along with various naval officers.
More information on the ship and the commissioning may be found on the link here. The link includes ticket information. A link to view the event via livestream can be found here.
Confirmed watch party locations around the state are:
All Vets Center, Mason City
American Legion Post 26, Davenport
All Vets Club/VFW Post 1977, Decorah
American Legion Post 2, Council Bluffs
American Legion Post 241, Le Mars
American Legion Post 34, Oskaloosa
American Legion Post 37, Ames
American Legion Post 389, Anthon
American Legion Post 460, Solon
American Legion Post 64, Sioux City
American Legion Post 7, Carroll
Big Grove Brewery, Iowa City (hosted by Johnson County Veterans Affairs)
El Kahir Shrine (Shriners), Hiawatha
Elks Lodge 1304, Red Oak (hosted by Montgomery County Veterans Affairs)
Gary Dolphin's Iron Bar, Dubuque
Grout Museum District, Waterloo
Iowa Gold Star Museum, Johnston
Iowa Veterans Home, Marshalltown
Pit Pony Pub & Eatery, Centerville
Union County Development Association, Creston (hosted by Ruth Bolinger, aunt of an active-duty submariner)
Veterans Hall, Spencer (hosted by Clay County Veterans Affairs)
VFW Post 2561/American Legion Post 58, Mount Pleasant
VFW Post 10102, Burlington
VFW Post 1856, Fort Dodge
VFW Post 9599, Jefferson
Waverly Area Veterans Post, Waverly
Winterset Public Library, Winterset
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative