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.