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On the 75th anniversary of her commissioning, the famous American battleship USS Missouri<\/em> (BB-43) is being commemorated with the issuance of the USS Missouri Forever stamps. <\/p>\n The U.S. Postal Service dedicated the stamps on June 11 during a ceremony on her deck pier side in Pearl Harbor. <\/p>\n The USS Missouri<\/em> was commissioned on June 11, 1944. As a fast battleship, she was affectionately nicknamed "Mighty Mo." She was heavily armed and armored and capable of very high speeds for a vessel her size.<\/p>\n She joined military efforts in the Pacific theater of operations during the last months of World War II. On September 2, 1945, in a ceremony that was broadcast around the world, USS Missouri<\/em> played one of the most momentous roles in the conflict when military officials from the Allied powers and imperial Japan convened on her deck and signed the documents confirming Japan's surrender and ending the war.<\/p>\n USS Missouri<\/em> earned numerous combat awards and citations during her decades of service, which also included deployments during the Korean War and Operation Desert Storm. Decommissioned for the second and final time in 1992 and removed from the Navy's ship registry in 1995, USS Missouri<\/em> now rests as a memorial and museum at the Battleship USS Missouri<\/em> Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.<\/p>\n The stamp art depicts USS Missouri <\/em>from a low vantage point almost at sea level, cutting through the water at a moderate speed commensurate with entering or leaving port. Large and imposing in the frame, USS Missouri<\/em> is shown in the disruptive camouflage she wore from her commissioning until a refit in early 1945. Clouds loom in the background, tinged with gold and rose from the sun's rays.<\/p>\n Designed by art director Greg Breeding, the stamp features a digital illustration created by Dan Cosgrove.<\/p>\n The USS Missouri stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price. <\/p>\n