| Summary: | In 1962, after learning that the World War II battleship was to be scrapped, the state legislature established a commission to study the possibility of acquiring the vessel. Through the efforts of that commission and the contributions of private citizens (who raised more than $750,000 for the effort), the ship was taken to Mobile. There it was refurbished and converted into a memorial to Alabama's war veterans, which opened in January 1965. This image was published with an article ("Alabamians awed as grand old gal finally arrives") in the Birmingham News on September 15, 1964, with the following caption: "Alabama's Last Helmsman and Family . . . Charles and Mrs. McLafferty with Karen, Kevin, Ardith Ann and Lowry."
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