USS Colorado Vets Reunion

The USS Colorado battleship appeared in 10 World War II battles, traveled nearly 162,000 miles in the Pacific, shot down 11 aircraft, fired more than 60,000 rounds and lost 83 members of its crew before being decommissioned in 1947.

Sixty years later, 53 ship veterans, six widows and more than 60 family members met at the University of Colorado to share stories and look at some of the ship’s memorabilia, permanently housed in the university’s Veterans Lounge.

The group gathered at the Air Force Academy Chapel for a memorial service for crew members who died on the ship and veterans who have since passed away. And they received an unexpected visit from Governor Bill Ritter at the State Capitol and a speech from CU President Hank Brown in Boulder.

In 1921, the $27 million ship was christened with a bottle of Colorado river water. Katie Krahn, 11, Dallas, Texas, whose great-grandfather was aboard the USS Colorado, created a research project about the ship. She spent Friday filming and interviewing veterans to make an online montage for them.

From a story by Laura-Claire Corson in the Daily Camera, Colorado.