Battleship Park marks 50th

MOBILE, Ala. - One of Alabama Gulf Coast’s best-known attractions – Battleship Memorial Park - will begin a year-long celebration Jan. 9 to mark the 50th anniversary of its opening on Mobile Bay as the USS Alabama (BB-60) went on public display on Jan. 9, 1965. Events will be held later this year to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and Veterans Day. The USS Alabama saw more than three years of active service during WWII in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. The ship was mothballed after the war, but a fundraising drive brought it to Mobile for display in the new park. (The Associated Press, 12/28/14)