Pips Bucket Tour Goes NAVAL

Hey Everyone!
Wow, this is such a super special day for me!  I'm very honored to host my pal Pip on his World Bucket Tour.   I searched my doggy brain for the most amazing thing I can show him here in my territory to give him an adventure of a lifetime.

Well, here it is!!!!!   
A short jaunt from my house is a REAL LIVE UNITED STATES NAVAL VESSEL!    
And if that wasn't cool enough...it was MY DAD'S NAVAL VESSEL!  
That's right.   I'm taking Pip and Puddles for a ride on the USS LITTLE ROCK.  
We're going to ride on a historic, military warship.   Woohoooo!
We started out at my house in Pennsylvania, then headed north to Buffalo, New York!

When my Dad was in the Navy back in the early 1960's, he was stationed on the USS Little Rock.  Now it's a Naval Museum in Buffalo, NY.  The ship is right there...fur real!  And we're gonna see it and BOARD IT TOO!   Here we go...

This is the ship anchored next to the museum.

Check out these pawesome museum exhibits!

I arranged for Nurse Puddles to have her own US Navy Nurse uniform.

She's planning to spend the day here in the museum. 

She keeps saying

"Hey Sailor, Come here often?" 

"Hey Sailor, Come here often?"

"Hey Sailor, Come here often?"

She's just waiting for one person so answer her with the ole

"Well, hellloooooo Nurse!"

BWAR HAR HAR.   We'll leave her to it while Pip and I explore the ship.

I got us some uniforms, perfect for the US Navy circa 1963.

Hello, up there, Pip!  How's the view from the observation deck?!?

OMD, this is so pawesome!  These are the big 6 inch guns!

This is inside the missile silo.

Pip got to see a real Talos Missile up close!

Okay, here comes the historical information:

U.S.S. LITTLE  ROCK CL-92 / CLG-4 / CG-4   Length: 610 feet Beam: 66 feet Draft: 25 feet Displacement: 10,670 tons Armament: Two Mk II talos Missile Launchers; Three 6-inch guns; two 5-inch/38 caliber gunsComplement: 1,100 enlisted; 150 officers; 150 Marines

LITTLE ROCK was launched on 27 August 1944.  From 1946 to 1957 she visited the East Coast, Caribbean, South & Central America, rounded Cape Horn, Europe, North Atlantic & Gibraltar.

On 30 January 1957 she was reconfigured to carry 48 long-range Talos missiles and to provide Flag staff accommodations.   (That means the highest ranking officers travelled on her!  She always had an Admiral on board.) My Dad served on USS LITTLE ROCK from 1962 through 1966 and was aboard the day that President John F Kennedy was assassinated.  Pip and I got to see the Mess and even the exact table where he was sitting when the announcement came over the ship's loudspeaker.

In June of 1967 the USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli ships and aircraft. LITTLE ROCK was sent to aid the Liberty.  On 5 June 1975, USS LITTLE ROCK represented the U.S. during the reopening of the Suez Canal. She was the only foreign warship in the official floatilla.  On 17 June 1976 LITTLE ROCK was ordered to Lebanon to assist in evacuating US citizens from Beirut. In September of 1976 LITTLE ROCK made her final departure from Gaeta. On 22 November 1976 the LITTLE ROCK was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. On 01 June 1977, LITTLE ROCK was officially transferred to the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Servicemen's Park in Buffalo, NY. Towed through the Saint Lawrence Seaway LITTLE ROCK arrived on 15 July.  On 30 June 1979 the U.S.S. LITTLE ROCK was opened to the public as a museum, the last surviving cruiser from the Cleveland-class / Galveston-class cruiser fleets. My Dad was aboard when this photo was taken! This is the deepest natural harbor in the world. Okay, back to our visit in Buffalo...   This is the Forward Deck!  Pip's on the bridge now!  See that gold, shower head looking thing?  The Captain yelled into that and it carried his voice down below.  Cool huh!   We stayed all day and got to see her all lit up in the evening! Wow, this was such a special day for me!  I hope that Pip and Puddles had as much fun as I did.  My Dad and I are really happy to share this with my furiends and help Pip celebrate his Bucket Tour.  Thanks for coming along for our adventure, and I wish Pip safe and fun travels for the rest of his tour. Grr and Woof, Sarge, COP