The USS Wisconsin (BB-64) is an Iowa-class battleship. The USS Iowa was the lead ship of the Iowa-class of Navy vessels.
The final year of World War I ended 100 years ago this year. The U.S.S. Iowa was recommissioned in 1917 as the United States entered the war. By November 1917, the ship relocated to Norfolk, Virginia and patrolled the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay and served as a training ship for the Atlantic Fleet.
Old Dominion University Libraries recently finished digitizing a new collection from a Navy band member who served aboard the U.S.S. Iowa as it patrolled France during WWI. Some of the photographs in the album include John Philip Sousa as a Navy officer, recreation activities of the officers, the Navy band, and the Navy's NC-4 seaplane that was the first aircraft to fly nonstop across the Atlantic in the spring of 1919. The captions in the album were supplied by the creator. In addition to the album, three loose items (two poems about life on board the ship and a church program) which were found at the end of the album are included.
This album is a touching remembrance of the daily lives of the sailors who served faithfully 100 years ago during the first Great War. You can explore the album contents at the ODU Libraries website. You can see the actual scrapbook by visiting ODU Libraries Special Collections, located on the third floor of Perry Library, between 9 am - 4:30 pm Monday - Friday.