USS Wisconsin is an Iowa-class battleship, and is the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and launched on December 7, 1943. During her career Wisconsin served in World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications at Ulithi and Leyte Gulf, and screened U.S. aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. During the Korean War she shelled North Korean targets in support of UN and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the mothball fleet. She was reactivated and modernized in 1986 as part of the "600-ship Navy" plan, and participated in the 1991 Gulf War. Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991 and currently functions as a museum ship at the Nauticus National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Wisconsin was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 2006 and is currently awaiting donation for use as a museum ship.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

68: Roman Emperor Nero committed suicide after he was deposed by the Senate. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero)

1815: Congress of Vienna ended, redrawing the political map of Europe after the defeat of Napoleon. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Vienna)

1885: The end of the Franco-Chinese War. China gave up Tonkin and Annam (most of present day Vietnam). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Chinese_War)

1934: Donald Duck debuted in The Wise Little Hen. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Duck)

1986: The Rogers Commission released its report on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Commission_Report)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

When you were born in this world Everyone laughed while you criedConduct not yourself in manner such That they laugh when you are gone. -- Kabir (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kabir)