Mountaineer Battlewagon: U.S.S. West Virginia (BB-48)

The battleship West Virginia (BB48) was the second ship of the U.S. Navy to carry that name. She was christened in honor of West Virginia, whose star, the 35th, came into the Union banner in 1863 at the height of the Civil War. Affec­tionately nicknamed "Old Task Force 48," or the "WeeVee" (a play on her initials), she was sometimes called the Mountaineer Battlewagon and was the pride of America in the years before World War II. Despite a near fatal setback at Pearl Harbor, she was put back in service in time to finish the conflict, remaining at all times a worthy symbol of the people and spirit, "Montani Semper Liberi," or "Mountaineers Always Free."