SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) Only four aging crew members are attending this week's reunion for the USS Battleship South Dakota at its memorial in Sioux Falls.
92-year-old Luther Leon Gee has come all the way from Fresno County, California.
He was a radar man aboard the storied battleship. Luther saw a lot of action and a lot of history, including the Japanese surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay. On the wrong ship as far as he's concerned.
"We thought that the signing was going to be on the South Dakota because we had Admiral Halsey and Nimitz aboard ship, but then President Truman was from Missouri. He decided to sign it on the Missouri."
The public is invited to attend a ceremony at the Battleship Memorial on Saturday, July 7, starting at 10 a.m. This is the 26th annual reunion. The memorial is full of artifacts of the ship, including a special Japanese flag that is part of Mr. Gee's memories of the end of the war.
"..Japanese had one battleship left, the Nagato, and they want over there and took their flag down and the flag is hanging in the memorial.."
The South Dakota was one of the most decorated ships in World War II, involved in 15 major operations, 50 air strikes, the sinking of 3 ships and the downing of 64 Japanese aircraft.