Chester Johnson, Poem Nine
Poem 17, June 17
Chester Johnson, Poem Nine
So you asked what a flagship is.
The USS Iowa was a fast ship,
a fast battleship.
It was heavily armed
and the lead ship in the Pacific
Theater of War.
When Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee,
or another Admiral was on board,
we raised a special flag.
When the Admiral’s flag flew,
the USS Iowa was a flagship.
It wasn’t complicated.
The Iowa flew
Admiral Bull Halsey’s flag,
for the Japanese surrender ceremony.