♪♪ NARRATOR: THIS IS A LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP.

IT WAS DESIGNED TO BE FAST, AGILE AND ADAPTABLE AND OFFICIALLY BECAME PART OF THE U.S. NAVY IN 2020, CARRYING A NAME THAT IT SHARES WITH SIX OTHER VESSELS, WHOSE COMBINED HISTORY REACHES BACK ALMOST AS FAR AS OUR COUNTRY DOES.

UNDER THIS NAME, SHIPS TANGLED WITH PIRATES IN THE CARIBBEAN, BLOCKED SLAVE TRADE OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA, FOUGHT FOR THE UNION ON THE MISSISSIPPI AND ESCAPED PEARL HARBOR UNSCATHED.

TODAY, THAT NAME IS STILL CARRIED TO THE FAR REACHES OF THE WORLD BY A SHIP DESIGNED TO COUNTER MODERN COASTAL THREATS, OPERATING IN BOTH THE NEAR SHORE AND OPEN OCEAN.

HER NAME IS THE "U.S.S.

ST.

LOUIS."

BUT IT'S NOT JUST THE NAME OF OUR CITY THAT SHE SHARES.

IT'S A LEGACY TO PRESERVE AND TO CARRY ON.

♪♪ [WATER WHOOSHING] [SEAGULL SQUAWKING] ♪♪ CMDCM ELLISON: BECAUSE WE'RE A MINIMALLY MANNED CREW, EVERY SAILOR HAS PROBABLY TWO TO THREE JOBS.

JOE: THE SHIP IS HIGHLY AUTOMATED, SO THE CORE CREW RANGES BETWEEN 40 AND 50 PEOPLE.

THE CRUISER DESTROYER -- THEY WOULD HAVE ONE DEPARTMENT THAT WAS THAT LARGE.

LT BOGAN: THE MOST EXCITING THING ABOUT BEING OUT TO SEA, FOR ME, IS ALL THE DIFFERENT EVOLUTIONS AND DRILLS THAT WE GET TO DO WHEN WE'RE OUT ON THE WATER: GETTING THE OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE THE SHIP BY HAND, WHICH IS SOMETHING SPECIFIC TO "L.C.S."

THAT OFFICERS GET TO DO, THE FLIGHT OPERATIONS, THE SMALL-BOAT OPERATIONS, MINE-HUNTING DRILLS.

CDR HAGAN: THE SHEER AMOUNT OF CLEANING THAT WE DO EVERY SINGLE DAY.

ZEHRA: MY FAVORITE THING IS GOING OUT AT NIGHT, GOING OUT TO THE FLIGHT DECK OR THE FORECASTLE AND SEEING THE SKY OPEN UP BECAUSE THERE IS NO LIGHT POLLUTION AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY MESMERIZING.

♪♪ NARRATOR: STARGAZING FROM THE DECKS OF A "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" IS SOMETHING THAT SAILORS HAVE BEEN DOING FOR NEARLY TWO CENTURIES.

TECHNOLOGY AND MISSIONS MAY HAVE CHANGED, BUT THE NAME THEY SAIL UNDER UNITES THEM, NO MATTER WHEN THEY SERVED.

BARBARA: EVERYONE IN ST. LOUIS SHOULD KNOW THAT THERE IS A NAVY SHIP THAT'S NAMED AFTER US.

NARRATOR: THE GUIDING STAR AT THE HEAD OF THIS EFFORT FOR THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" IS THE SHIP'S SPONSOR, BARBARA BROADHURST TAYLOR.

BARBARA: WHEN I WAS ASKED TO DO THIS, I THOUGHT THAT THE CHRISTENING WAS THE ONLY THING THAT A SPONSOR DOES, WHICH IS NOT THE CASE.

[GLASS SHATTERING] ♪♪ NARRATOR: IT MIGHT BE THE MOST DRAMATIC, NERVE-WRACKING OR EXCITING THING A SHIP'S SPONSOR DOES, BUT THE ICONIC BREAKING OF A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE OVER THE BOW IS JUST A BRIEF, SPARKLING PEEK INTO WHAT HER REAL COMMITMENTS ARE TO BOTH VESSEL AND CREW.

A SPONSOR WILL BE PRESENT AT ALL OF THE MAJOR MILESTONES IN HER SHIP'S LIFE, FROM THE LAYING OF THE KEEL UNTIL ITS DECOMMISSIONING FROM SERVICE.

BARBARA: I AM A, YOU KNOW, LIFE MEMBER OF THE CREW, AND SO EVERYBODY ELSE IS GONNA ROTATE OUT AND I'M STILL GOING TO BE HERE.

FRANK: THE ROLE OF THE SPONSOR IS TREMENDOUS -- THIS IDEA OF IMBUING HER PERSONALITY INTO THE SHIP AND BEING THE ADVOCATE FOR THE CREW, WHICH YOU'RE GONNA TAKE THAT SHIP, TAKE IT TO SEA AND FIGHT FOR OUR NATIONAL SECURITY.

NARRATOR: U.S.

NAVAL TRADITION FOR THE PAST CENTURY-AND-A-HALF IS TO HAVE A FEMALE FILL THIS UNIQUE ROLE.

CLUTCHING AN ENORMOUS BOUQUET IN ONE HAND AND A BOTTLE OF BUBBLY IN THE OTHER, DEBUTANTES, ACTRESSES, POLITICIANS' WIVES, WAR WIDOWS AND EVEN CHILDREN BECAME A SORT OF GODMOTHER TO THEIR SHIPS, GIVING THE CREW GIFTS AND PROMISING TO STAY WITH THEM IN SPIRIT AS THEY SAILED AWAY INTO UNDISCLOSED DESTINATIONS.

OF COURSE, THE PAST FEW DECADES HAVE SEEN SPONSOR SELECTION FOCUS MORE ON WHAT THE WOMEN THEMSELVES HAVE ACCOMPLISHED, BUT THE COMMITMENT REMAINS THE SAME.

THE COMMISSIONING COMMITTEE HELPS THE SPONSOR TO NAVIGATE THE MANY EVENTS, TRADITIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO ESTABLISHING A SOLID CONNECTION BETWEEN HER AND THE SHIP.

AND THAT STARTS WITH ITS NAMESAKE CITY.

MARK: IT WAS IN 2015 WHEN SECRETARY RAY MABUS CAME HERE TO "SOLDIERS MEMORIAL" AND STOOD ON THE STEP AND, YOU KNOW, ANNOUNCED THAT THE U.S. NAVY WAS ONCE AGAIN PREPARED TO NAME A SHIP AFTER THE CITY.

DON: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR FROM THE NAVY WAS IF THEY HONOR YOUR CITY THAT THE COMMUNITY GETS BEHIND IT.

AND IT'S NOT SO MUCH HOW MANY DOLLARS YOU RAISE.

IT'S THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT GET ENGAGED AND ARE A PART OF IT.

AND WE HAD AMAZING SUCCESS WITH THAT, BUT THAT'S ST. LOUIS.

ST. LOUIS GETS BEHIND SOMETHING, THEY GET BEHIND IT IN THE RIGHT WAY.

NARRATOR: AMERICAN NAVAL HISTORY ACTUALLY PREDATES THE UNITED STATES DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

IN 1775, THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS VOTED TO OUTFIT TWO SAILING VESSELS WITH ENOUGH MEN AND GUNS TO MEAN BUSINESS.

THEIR MISSION WAS TO CRUISE FOR BRITISH TRANSPORTS AND INTERCEPT THE DELIVERIES OF MUNITIONS AND SUPPLIES FOR THEIR ARMY IN AMERICA.

THIS RISKY MOVE BY THE COLONISTS PAID OFF AND THE CONTINENTAL NAVY PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, CAPTURING ALMOST 200 BRITISH SHIPS AS PRIZES, SEIZING MUCH-NEEDED SUPPLIES AND CRUSHING ENEMY MORALE.

THOSE 2 SHIPS TURNED INTO 50 OVER THE COURSE OF THE WAR AND WERE THE ORIGIN OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

OFFICER: YOU ARE NO LONGER A CIVILIAN.

WHATEVER YOU WERE BEFORE IS NOW OVER.

FRANK: WE ASK A LOT OF OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN.

WHEN THEY RAISE THEIR RIGHT HAND AND THEY TAKE AN OATH OF OFFICE TO SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IS THEY'RE GONNA GIVE THEIR LIFE FOR OUR NATION, FOR OUR FREEDOM, FOR OUR SECURITY.

THAT'S A PRETTY TALL ORDER FOR A 17-, 18-, 20-YEAR-OLD TO MAKE.

ALL: I AM COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE AND THE FAIR TREATMENT OF ALL.

♪♪ [GUNSHOTS] ♪♪ FRANK: YOU CAN NEVER PAY ENOUGH FOR SOMEBODY TO DO THAT.

SO, WHAT THAT MARGIN OF DIFFERENCE IS, IS APPRECIATION.

AND SO, WHEN THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS INVITES CREW MEMBERS FROM THE "ST. LOUIS" TO THE NAMESAKE CITY, THOSE SAILORS FEEL LIKE ROCK STARS.

ZEHRA: BEING A PART OF THE CREW THAT BEARS THE "ST. LOUIS" NAME MEANS A LOT TO ME.

WE WENT TO ST. LOUIS DURING THE SUMMERTIME, AND THE HOSPITALITY AND THE WARMTH AND THE EXPERIENCE WE HAD WAS ABSOLUTELY MIND-BLOWING.

EVERYONE WAS SO WELCOMING AND JUST WANTED TO KNOW US AND WANTED TO KNOW WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO AND WHAT'S THE SHIP LIKE.

NARRATOR: IN 2019, MEMBERS OF THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" CREW WERE INVITED TO THE SPONSOR CITY FOR VARIOUS EVENTS, INCLUDING NAVY WEEK AND THE UNVEILING OF THEIR SHIP'S CREST.

MARK: THE CREST IS FULL OF SYMBOLISM.

IT ALSO CONNECTS BACK TO THE HISTORY OF THE PREVIOUS "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" SHIPS, MOST NOTABLY THE "LUCKY LOU", WHICH SAILED DURING WORLD WAR II.

AND THEY CAME HERE TO "SOLDIERS MEMORIAL" TO UNVEIL THAT CREST, YOU KNOW, AND THEY BROUGHT A LARGE NUMBER OF THE YOUNG CREW MEMBERS.

AND SO, IT WAS NOT JUST THE -- YOU KNOW, THE UPPER BRASS.

THE SHIP'S SPONSOR, BARBARA TAYLOR, AND HER COMMITTEE ENSURED THAT THOSE SAILORS SAW A LOT OF ST. LOUIS.

DAWN: WE REALLY DID OUR BEST TO SHOW 'EM OUR CITY AND TOOK 'EM OUT TO EAT AT OUR FAVORITE RESTAURANTS AND, OF COURSE, THERE WAS SPORTS INVOLVED.

WE WENT TO A HOCKEY GAME, AND THEY SAW A BASEBALL GAME, THREW OUT THE FIRST PITCH.

AND THEY WOULD GO VISIT SCHOOLS AND TALK TO KIDS AND DO A LOT OF DIFFERENT SERVICE PROJECTS.

BARBARA: PEOPLE WERE JUST SO NICE.

WHEN WE WENT TO "TED DREWES" -- 15, MAYBE 20 OF US -- AND THE PERSON BEHIND US PUT DOWN HIS CREDIT CARD AND SAID, YOU KNOW, "THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO.

I'D LOVE TO JUST BUY IT FOR ALL OF YOU."

SO, IT WAS JUST -- THERE'S JUST A REAL OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT.

CDR HAGAN: THE WELCOME THAT WE RECEIVED WAS NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING.

IT MADE ME VERY PROUD TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS.

MARK: IT'S NOT JUST IN NAME ALONE THAT WE'RE REPRESENTED, BUT THESE INDIVIDUAL SAILORS HAVE BEEN HERE TO ST. LOUIS TO SEE OUR CITY AND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT AND DEVELOP THAT DEEPER RELATIONSHIP.

NARRATOR: WHEN THE CONTINENTAL NAVY BEGAN IN 1775, ST. LOUIS WAS ONLY 11 YEARS OLD, AN IMPORTANT BUT MODEST TRADING SETTLEMENT IN SPANISH TERRITORY ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

BY 1828, IT WAS AN IMPORTANT ENOUGH AMERICAN CITY TO HAVE A SHIP NAMED AFTER IT.

THE VERY FIRST NAVY SHIP TO CARRY THE NAME OF OUR CITY WAS ALSO THE LONGEST TO SERVE UNDER IT.

BUILT AT THE WASHINGTON NAVY YARD AS A SLOOP OF WAR, THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" WAS COMMISSIONED IN 1828.

ANDREW: SHE WAS COMMISSIONED SPECIFICALLY, LIKE MOST SHIPS IN THE NAVY AT THAT TIME, TO PROTECT COMMERCE.

PIRATES WERE STILL A REALLY BIG ISSUE.

THAT WAS THE NAVY'S BIG ROLE AT THAT TIME -- YOU KNOW, PROTECTING SHIPS, LIKE, ESCORTING THEM AS THEY WENT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN OR EVEN THE COAST OF AFRICA.

THE "ST. LOUIS" WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE LATTER DAYS OF US FIGHTING AGAINST PIRATES.

SHE WAS ALSO THE FIRST SHIP CARRYING THE AMERICAN FLAG TO GO INTO THE PORT OF SAN FRANCISCO.

SHE WENT IN THERE TO NEGOTIATE A PRISONER RELEASE.

NARRATOR: FOR DECADES, THE ST. LOUIS CRISSCROSSED THE GLOBE, SUPPRESSING THE SLAVE TRADE OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA, EVACUATING BRITISH COLONISTS DURING THE FLAGSTAFF WAR IN NEW ZEALAND AND BECOMING THE UNITED STATES' STRONG-ARM IN A FAMOUS DIPLOMATIC EPISODE KNOWN AS "THE KOSZTA AFFAIR."

KEVIN: ...WHERE A HUNGARIAN REVOLUTIONARY LEADER, WHO HAD IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES WITH THE PURPOSE OF BECOMING A CITIZEN, WAS IN SMYRNA, TURKEY, DOING BUSINESS THERE.

NARRATOR: MARTIN KOSZTA, WHO HAD LED A MOVEMENT TO SEPARATE HUNGARY FROM THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE, WAS ABDUCTED FROM A CAFÉ AND TAKEN ABOARD AN AUSTRIAN SHIP.

WHEN THE U.S.

COUNSEL GOT WIND OF THIS, HE KNEW FROM PAST EXPERIENCE THAT KOSZTA WAS IN IMMINENT DANGER AND REACHED OUT TO THE U.S. NAVY.

KEVIN: "ST. LOUIS" THE SLOOP WAS LAYING AT ANCHOR IN SMYRNA, AND THE COMMANDING OFFICER, COMMANDER DUNCAN INGRAHAM, DEMANDED THAT KOSZTA BE RELEASED.

NARRATOR: COMPELLED TO DIPLOMACY BY THE "ST. LOUIS'S" CANNONS, THE AUSTRIANS RELEASED THEIR CAPTIVE AFTER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE WILLIAM L. MARCY ARGUED THAT DESPITE NOT YET HAVING COMPLETED THE NATURALIZATION PROCESS, KOSZTA WAS STILL RECOGNIZED AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN AND NO LONGER UNDER AUSTRIAN LAW.

THIS DRAMATIC EPISODE WAS FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY THE PUBLIC AND BECAME A DEFINING MOMENT FOR A YOUNG COUNTRY MADE UP OF IMMIGRANTS.

[WATER WHOOSHING] DON: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN 50 YEARS THAT ST. LOUIS HAS HAD A SHIP NAMED "ST.

LOUIS."

PAUL: IT GETS THE NAME OF THE CITY OUT INTO THE WORLD.

AND SO, WHEN THE NAVY IS MENTIONED AND THE NAME "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" COMES UP, WE WHO GREW UP IN MISSOURI AND LIVED IN ST. LOUIS FEEL A SENSE OF PRIDE.

NARRATOR: BUT WHO DECIDES WHAT CITY OR STATE WILL RECEIVE THIS HONOR?

AND WHAT FACTORS GO INTO CHOOSING ONE PLACE OVER ANOTHER?

KEVIN: THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY IS THE ONE THAT NAMES SHIPS.

SECRETARIES HAVE PROBABLY EMPHASIZED THREE THINGS: STATES OR CITIES THAT HAVE A NAVY CONNECTION, ALSO THE LINEAGE OF THE SHIP -- FOR INSTANCE, ST. LOUIS HAS A RICH HISTORY IN THE U.S. NAVY -- EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, I THINK, IS AN EFFORT TO HAVE GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.

THE SHIPS WOULDN'T JUST BE NAMED FOR PLACES WITH NAVAL BASES.

NARRATOR: THIS INCLUSIVE APPROACH HAS PROVIDED A NAVY CONNECTION TO LANDLOCKED CITIES LIKE ST. LOUIS, ONE THAT IS STRENGTHENED BY OUR LOCAL NAVY LEAGUE.

ASN WILLIAMS: IN THE LATE 1800s, TEDDY ROOSEVELT WAS AN ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.

SO, WHEN HE BECAME PRESIDENT, WHAT HE WANTED WAS A GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION TO BE AN ADVOCATE FOR THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

IT'S IN CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND EVEN IN SOME FOREIGN LOCATIONS.

IN ST. LOUIS, IT'S ABOUT A 500-PERSON ORGANIZATION, AND WE SUPPORT A LOT OF YOUTH PROGRAMS THROUGH SEA CADETS, THROUGH THE N.J.R.O.T.C.

PROGRAM.

WE'VE GIVEN OUT SCHOLARSHIPS.

THERE'S A NAVAL FLIGHT ACADEMY WE'VE SENT SOME KIDS TO, AND THESE KIDS LEARN A LOT: OCEANOGRAPHY AND NAVIGATION AND A LOT OF ENGINEERING, A LOT OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH.

AND THE ST. LOUIS NAVAL LEAGUE OUGHT TO TAKE PRIDE IN THE ROLE IT PLAYS WITH ST. LOUIS.

NARRATOR: THE NAVY LEAGUE ALSO PARTNERS WITH COMMISSIONING COMMITTEES AS THEY WORK TOWARDS THE SHARED GOAL OF BRINGING A NEW SHIP INTO SERVICE AND CREATING LOCAL EXCITEMENT AND SUPPORT AROUND IT.

DON: IT'S A REAL FEATHER IN THE CAP OF OUR CITY TO HAVE THIS HONOR BESTOWED UPON US.

THERE'S SOME REALLY AMAZING STORIES ABOUT OUR PREDECESSORS, AND WE HOPE THAT OUR "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" WILL HAVE THE SAME KIND OF VALOR AND RECOGNITION.

NARRATOR: AFTER ALL OF HER INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURES, THE VERY FIRST "ST. LOUIS" WOULD SPEND THE REMAINDER OF HER CAREER FIGHTING A WAR AT HOME.

ANDREW: IN THE CIVIL WAR, SHE WAS RATHER OUTDATED BUT STILL ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE.

HER MAIN ROLE WAS IN BLOCKADING SOUTHERN PORTS, PARTICULARLY ALONG THE GULF OF MEXICO.

THAT WAS PART OF THE UNION STRATEGY CALLED THE "ANACONDA PLAN."

THE UNIT WOULD TRY TO LIMIT THE CONFEDERACY'S ABILITY TO CONTINUE FIGHTING.

WHILE THEY WOULD BLOCKADE PORTS ALONG THE ATLANTIC AND THE GULF OF MEXICO, WE WOULD SEND SHIPS DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI TO CUT THE CONFEDERACY IN TWO.

NARRATOR: SHE ALSO DELIVERED SAILORS AND MARINES TO BOYD'S LANDING AS PART OF A JOINT ARMY AND NAVY MANEUVER DESIGNED TO ASSIST GENERAL SHERMAN'S PIVOTAL MARCH TO THE SEA THROUGH GEORGIA.

ANDREW: BY THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR, SHE WAS DECOMMISSIONED.

WITH THE IRONCLADS, SHIP DESIGN HAD MOVED ON.

NARRATOR: AS WEAPONS BECAME MORE POWERFUL AND ACCURATE, SHIPS MADE OF WOOD BECAME MORE VULNERABLE.

MANY OF THE BATTLES FOUGHT ON WATER DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR ACTUALLY HAPPENED ON THE RIVERS, SO A NEW TYPE OF SHIP WAS NEEDED.

THE IRONCLADS WERE STEAM-PROPELLED, ARMORED WITH STEEL OR IRON PLATES AND COULD NAVIGATE IN SHALLOW WATER.

THE FIRST SEVERAL OF THESE INNOVATIVE SHIPS ALSO JUST SO HAPPENED TO BE BUILT RIGHT HERE IN ST. LOUIS.

ANDREW: THE CIVIL-WAR IRONCLADS WERE ACTUALLY BUILT IN CARONDELET UNDER THE "CARONDELET MARINE RAILWAY COMPANY."

IT WAS THE BIGGEST SHIPYARD IN THE AREA.

THE TRAIN TRACKS ACTUALLY DID GO A LITTLE BIT INTO THE RIVER.

SO, WHAT THE LOCOMOTIVES WOULD DO IS THEY WOULD GRAB ONTO A SHIP THAT NEEDED -- THAT CAME IN FOR REPAIRS FROM THE RIVER AND JUST DRAG IT UP TO THE DRY DOCK.

IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1855 BY A GUY NAMED PRIMUS EMERSON.

HE LEFT ST. LOUIS ONCE THE CIVIL WAR BROKE OUT TO ACTUALLY BUILD IRONCLADS FOR THE CONFEDERACY.

BUT THAT LEFT THE DOOR OPEN FOR JAMES EADS TO COME IN AND LEASE IT.

JAMES EADS WAS CONSIDERED AN EXPERT OF NAVIGATING THE RIVER 'CAUSE HE GOT HIS START SALVAGING SHIPS THAT HAD RUN AGROUND.

NARRATOR: WORKING WITH NAVAL ARCHITECT SAMUEL POOK, EADS BEGAN TO PRODUCE SHIPS WITH A SHALLOW DRAFT AND TOUGH EXTERIOR FOR THE UNION ARMY, STARTING WITH THE IRONCLAD "ST.

LOUIS."

SO, WHILE THE SLOOP OF WAR NAMED "ST. LOUIS" WAS BLOCKADING SOUTHERN PORTS, THE IRONCLAD "ST. LOUIS" WAS ATTACKING CONFEDERATE FORTS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.

ANDREW: AT THE START OF THE WAR, THE IRONCLADS FELL UNDER THE ARMY'S PURVIEW.

THEIR THINKING WAS THAT SINCE RIVERS WERE INLAND, THAT SHOULD BE THE ARMY'S JURISDICTION.

BUT THEY DIDN'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH SHIPS SO WELL, SO THEY DID HAVE -- LET THE NAVY COME IN AND CONSULT AND BE THE OFFICERS IN CHARGE OF THE SHIPS.

THAT DID CAUSE SOME TENSION, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE NAVAL OFFICERS HAD TO TAKE ORDERS FROM ARMY OFFICERS, EVEN IF THEY WERE OF EQUAL RANK.

NARRATOR: FOR THIS AND OTHER REASONS, LINCOLN AGREED TO REASSIGN THE IRONCLADS TO THE UNION NAVY.

SINCE THE U.S. NAVY WILL ONLY ALLOW ONE SHIP TO CARRY A NAME AT A TIME, THE IRONCLAD "ST. LOUIS" WAS RENAMED THE "BARON DE KALB" AFTER A MAJOR REVOLUTIONARY WAR FIGURE AND WENT ON TO TAKE PART IN IMPORTANT EXPEDITIONS AND SEE FOUR OF HER SAILORS EARN THE MEDAL OF HONOR.

AFTER THE WAR, WHEN IRONCLADS WERE NO LONGER NEEDED, JAMES EADS WENT ON TO BUILD HIS FAMOUS RAIL AND ROAD BRIDGE OVER THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, SIGNALING THE DECLINE OF THE RIVERBOAT AND THE RISE OF THE LOCOMOTIVE.

ANDREW: THAT WAS AN ENGINEERING MARVEL AT THE TIME.

EADS REALLY DRAMATICALLY CHANGED THE U.S. ECONOMY.

NARRATOR: THOUGH THE AGE OF THE IRONCLADS WAS SHORT-LIVED, THEY POINTED THE WAY TOWARDS MODERN NAVY SHIPS, LIKE THE NEWEST "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS LCS-19."

ADM FULLER: THIS SHIP'S LETHAL.

IT'S AGILE.

IT'S READY TO FIGHT.

JOE: THE LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP WAS DESIGNED TO REPLACE THREE DIFFERENT SHIPS THAT THE NAVY HAD: A FRIGATE, A PATROL CRAFT AND A MINE-COUNTERMEASURE SHIP.

THE LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP IS ABLE TO DO THE MISSIONS OF ALL THOSE SHIPS AS WELL AS TO EXPAND TO OTHER MISSIONS.

I THINK ABOUT IT LIKE AN "iPHONE."

I CAN USE IT TO OPEN AND CLOSE MY GARAGE OR CONTROL MY TV, AND THE WAY IT DOES THAT IS THROUGH APPLICATIONS.

WITH LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP, IT HAS EQUIPMENT THAT YOU CAN LOAD ON IT AND THEN IT HAS APPLICATIONS.

IT CAN FORM ANTI-SUBMARINE AND MINE COUNTERMEASURE AND GET VERY CLOSE TO SHORE FOR CLOSE AND SURFACE WARFARE MISSIONS.

ADM FULLER: THESE SHIPS WILL BE KEY TO KEEPING THAT GATEWAY OF FREEDOM OPEN.

AND MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, THAT GATEWAY IS UNDER ASSAULT BY A VARIETY OF VICIOUS THREATS: NATION-STATES THAT DON'T SEE DEMOCRACY AS A VALUE, EXTERNAL STATE ACTORS, VIOLENT EXTREMISTS, TERRORISTS ALL SEE SOMETHING OTHER THAN DEMOCRACY AS THEIR FUTURE.

JOE: THE "LOCKHEED MARTIN" TEAM, WHICH IS COMPRISED OF "LOCKHEED MARTIN," "FINCANTIERI MARINETTE MARINE" AND "GIBBS & COX", BROUGHT THE SHIP ALL THE WAY FROM CONCEPT DESIGN TO PRODUCTION.

THE INITIAL CUT OF STEEL THROUGH THE FULL CONSTRUCTION AND DELIVERY OF THE SHIP IS ROUGHLY ABOUT FOUR YEARS, AND THERE ARE MILESTONES FROM CUT STEEL TO DELIVERY THAT WE TRACK ALONG THE WAY.

IF YOU THINK BACK TO THE HISTORY OF OUR NAVY, THE KEEL LAYING WAS THIS CENTER BEAM OF TIMBER THAT THE WHOLE SHIP WAS BUILT AROUND.

TODAY, THAT'S BEEN REPLACED BY STEEL.

WHEN WE JOIN THE FIRST MODULES OF THE SHIP TOGETHER, WE BRING THE SPONSOR IN TO AUTHENTICATE THAT THE SHIP IS BEING BUILT, AND THAT'S THAT FIRST CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SHIPBUILDER, THE SPONSOR AND THE NAVY AND THE CREWS THAT WILL SAIL UPON HER.

NARRATOR: DESIGN, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION GIVE A BODY TO WHAT ONCE WAS JUST A CONCEPT, BUT THE SHIP'S SPONSOR IS MEANT TO GIVE IT A HEART.

BARBARA: WHEN WE WENT UP TO WISCONSIN TO THE SHIPBUILDING FACILITY, THEY GAVE US A WHOLE TOUR FIRST OF HOW THE SHIP WAS BUILT AND YOU CAN SEE IT IN ALL DIFFERENT PIECES.

THEY TAKE A PLAQUE AND THEY ENGRAVE MY INITIALS INTO THE PLAQUE AND THEN THAT IS PERMANENTLY INSTALLED IN THE SHIP.

THE WELDER CAME OVER WITH THIS REALLY COOL HELMET THAT HAD EAGLES ALL OVER IT, AND HE, YOU KNOW, WELDED MY NAME.

AND I ASKED HIM LATER, I SAID, YOU KNOW, "DO YOU DO THIS ALL THE TIME?"

AND HE SAID, "OH, NO, MA'AM."

HE SAID, "THIS IS A TREMENDOUS HONOR."

SO, YOU FORGET THAT MOST SAILORS DON'T GET TO START ON A NEW SHIP.

TARA: BEING A PART OF A BRAND-NEW SHIP AND A BRAND-NEW CREW HAS BEEN AN HONOR.

I'VE BEEN IN THE NAVY FOR A WHILE, SO I DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN FOR ME IN MY CAREER.

IT'S A WHOLE NEW CHALLENGE.

NARRATOR: WHEREAS THE LAYING OF THE KEEL SYMBOLIZES THE OFFICIAL START OF THE SHIP'S CONSTRUCTION, THE MAST STEPPING TAKES PLACE NEAR THE END.

ANOTHER TRADITION CARRIED OVER FROM THE ANCIENT WORLD, MAST STEPPING IS THE DEVOTION OF PRECIOUS, MEANINGFUL OBJECTS TO THE SHIP THAT WILL STAY WITH HER UNTIL SHE IS DECOMMISSIONED.

THE TOKENS ARE PLACED IN A TIME CAPSULE, WHICH IS PASSED HAND-TO-HAND THROUGH THE ENTIRE CREW UNTIL IT'S SECURED TO THE RADAR MAST.

THE RITUAL IS THOUGHT TO HAVE STARTED IN ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE WHEN COINS WERE PLACED IN THE NOOK -- OR STEP -- UNDER THE MAIN MAST.

WHILE SOME SCHOLARS THINK THIS COULD HAVE MERELY BEEN AN ATTEMPT TO PREVENT ROT FROM SPREADING BETWEEN THE TWO WOODEN PIECES, OTHERS ARE CERTAIN IT WAS A RELIGIOUS CEREMONY.

WHATEVER THE CASE, IT'S A TRADITION STILL UPHELD BY THE U.S. NAVY.

FOR BARBARA TAYLOR, IT WAS ALSO THE CHANCE TO HONOR HER FAMILY'S MILITARY HERITAGE.

BARBARA: AT THE MAST STEPPING, WHAT THEY DO IS THEY ASKED ME TO BRING SOMETHING THAT WAS PERSONAL TO ME.

I BROUGHT TWO OF MY DAD'S RIBBONS.

HE WAS AN AIR-FORCE PILOT, AND HE FLEW "B-17s" DURING THE WAR.

HE WAS PART OF THE "FLYING FORTRESS."

AND HE WON SEVERAL MEDALS, BUT I CHOSE HIS "SILVER STAR" AND HIS "DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS" TO PUT INTO THE CONTAINER.

AND THEN FOR MY FATHER-IN-LAW, HE WAS A NAVY PILOT AND FLEW OFF THE "U.S.S.

ENTERPRISE" AND THE "U.S.S.

ESSEX," SO I HAD TWO COMMEMORATIVE COINS FROM BOTH OF THOSE SHIPS THAT I PUT IN.

NARRATOR: AFTER THE WAR, JACK TAYLOR FOUNDED "ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR" IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A COMPANY THAT HAS BEEN INVESTING IN THIS CITY FOR DECADES, MAKING THOSE TRIBUTE COINS TO HIS NAVY DAYS ALL THE MORE MEANINGFUL FOR THE "U.S.S.

ST.

LOUIS."

♪♪ NARRATOR: ONCE CONSTRUCTION IS FINISHED, A VESSEL INTENDED FOR THE NAVY STILL DOESN'T HAVE A NAME -- JUST A NUMBER -- UNTIL THIS ICONIC MOMENT.

BARBARA: I CHRISTEN THEE "ST.

LOUIS."

MAY GOD BLESS THIS SHIP AND ALL WHO SAIL IN HER.

[BANG] [CHEERING, HORNS BLOWING] BARBARA: I PRACTICED A LITTLE BIT BEFORE.

AND I WALKED UP ON THE PLATFORM, AND I JUST THOUGHT TO MYSELF, OKAY, I'M JUST GONNA PRETEND LIKE I'M A BASEBALL CARDINAL.

I JUST -- I REALLY WHACKED IT.

[LAUGHS] KEVIN: CHRISTENINGS HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF IMPORTANCE.

IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, SEA TRAVEL WAS OBVIOUSLY EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS, AND SO DIFFERENT CIVILIZATIONS AS VARIED AS THE GREEKS, THE ROMANS AND THE EGYPTIANS ALL HAD CHRISTENING CEREMONIES THAT ARE METAPHORICALLY BRINGING THE SHIP TO LIFE BUT ALSO INVITING DIVINE PROTECTION FOR BOTH THE SHIPS AND THE SAILORS.

NARRATOR: THE RITUAL OF POURING OUT A DRINK OFFERING TO FIND FAVOR WITH THE GODS TRAVELED AROUND THE ANCIENT WORLD AND WAS ADOPTED AND ADAPTED BY A VARIETY OF CULTURES, THE ECHOES OF WHICH ARE STILL FOUND IN OUR NAVY'S CHRISTENING TRADITION.

KEVIN: BY THE EARLY 17th CENTURY IN ENGLAND WITH THE ROYAL NAVY, THEY HAD BECOME LARGELY SECULAR CEREMONIES.

THE U.S. NAVY, GIVEN OUR HISTORY, HAS LARGELY FOLLOWED THE ROYAL NAVY'S TRADITIONS.

THE FIRST VESSEL IN THE NAVY THAT WE HAVE SOME FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT IS "CONSTITUTION," KNOWN AS "OLD IRONSIDES", AND THE COMMANDING OFFICER USED A BOTTLE OF OLD MADEIRA TO SMASH ACROSS THE BOW.

♪♪ JOE: THE FREEDOM-VARIANT "L.C.S."

HAS REALLY THE MOST EXCITING VERSION OF LAUNCHING A SHIP THAT YOU CAN SEE ACROSS OUR UNITED STATES NAVY.

BARBARA: THE SHIP IS A SIDE LAUNCH, AND SO IT LAUNCHES INTO THE WATER AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GONNA TURN OVER.

I MEAN, IT WAS QUITE SPECTACULAR.

JOE: IT GETS RELEASED FROM ITS CRADLE.

IT WEIGHS ABOUT 3,500 TONS, SLIDING INTO A RIVER.

I WAS THERE FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST SHIP.

BACK THEN I WAS A TECHNICAL DIRECTOR AND KINDA BITING MY NAILS HOPING THAT IT WAS GONNA SWING BACK TOWARDS THE PIER AFTER IT HIT THE WATER.

THE FUNNY THING I'LL TELL YOU, FROM SITTING IN THE FRONT OF THAT, IS IT DOESN'T GET OLD ANY TIME YOU SEE IT, EVEN WHEN YOU'RE THAT CLOSE TO IT.

IT'S PROBABLY EVEN CRAZIER.

[CHUCKLES] BARBARA: LUCKILY, SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME BEFORE, "NOW, BARBARA, DON'T LOOK BACK AT THE CROWD.

YOU NEED TO WATCH THE SHIP BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT THE BEST VIEW."

AND SURE ENOUGH, IT WAS PRETTY SENSATIONAL.

SO, THAT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST EXCITING PART OF BEING THE SPONSOR SO FAR.

NARRATOR: WHEN THE SHIP IS LAUNCHED, IT'S ABOUT 80% COMPLETE, ALLOWING FOR ADJUSTMENTS BEFORE BEING DELIVERED TO THE U.S. NAVY.

JOE: WE GO THROUGH A SERIES OF TESTS AND TRIALS WITH THE UNITED STATES NAVY TO VALIDATE THAT THE SHIP IS BUILT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS AND IT MEETS THE CAPABILITIES THAT THE NAVY'S LOOKING FOR.

BARBARA: I WANTED TO GO ON THE SEA TRIALS, AND THEN I SAW SOME OF THE PICTURES THAT THEY DROP LIVE BOMBS AROUND THE SHIP, YOU KNOW, TO SEE HOW STURDY IT IS TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY LEAKS.

THEY DECIDED THAT WASN'T A GOOD IDEA FOR ME TO GO ON THAT.

NARRATOR: BUT HOW EXACTLY DOES THE "L.C.S."

GET FROM A SHIPYARD IN WISCONSIN DOWN TO FLORIDA TO BE COMMISSIONED?

BY USING A SERIES OF LOCKS IN THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY, THE SHIP COVERS ABOUT A THIRD OF THE 3,500-MILE JOURNEY ON THE GREAT LAKES UNTIL IT REACHES THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND HEADS DOWN SOUTH TO ITS HOME PORT.

♪♪ NARRATOR: NOT ALL OF THE SHIPS CHRISTENED WITH THE NAME "ST. LOUIS" WERE ORIGINALLY BUILT FOR WAR.

SPONSORED BY FIRST LADY FRANCES CLEVELAND, THE "S.S. ST. LOUIS" BEGAN HER CAREER IN 1894 AS A TRANSATLANTIC PASSENGER LINER.

BUT JUST FOUR YEARS LATER, THE DECKS BUILT FOR LEISURELY STROLLING WOULD BE BUSY WITH SERVICEMEN.

KEVIN: IT WAS BROUGHT INTO SERVICE FOR THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.

IT WAS CONVERTED INTO AN AUXILIARY CRUISER.

IT WAS ARMED.

AND DURING THE WAR, SHE CUT THE TRANSATLANTIC CABLES FROM CUBA TO SPAIN, THEN WAS PRESENT DURING THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO DE CUBA ON JULY 3rd WHERE THE ADMIRAL CERVERA'S SPANISH FLEET WAS DESTROYED.

NARRATOR: AFTER THE WAR, SHE WAS DECOMMISSIONED AND WENT BACK TO CARRYING COMMERCIAL PASSENGERS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC UNTIL WORLD WAR I WHEN SHE WAS AGAIN COMMISSIONED TO THE NAVY AS A TROOP TRANSPORT, THIS TIME AS THE "U.S.S.

LOUISVILLE," SINCE ANOTHER "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" -- "C-20," A PROTECTED CRUISER -- HAD BEEN IN ACTION SINCE 1906.

"C-20" ALSO WAS LARGELY USED AS A TROOP TRANSPORT THROUGHOUT WORLD WAR I AND PROVIDED POST-WAR HUMANITARIAN AID TO REFUGEES BEFORE BEING DECOMMISSIONED IN 1922.

WHILE BOTH OF THESE SHIPS COMPLETED DUTIES THAT AIDED WAR EFFORTS AND EASED THE CHAOS THAT FOLLOWED, THE DEMANDS PLACED UPON THEM WOULD PALE IN COMPARISON TO THOSE THAT WOULD EARN THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS CL-49" THE NICKNAME "LUCKY LOU."

♪♪ DOUG: THERE'S ONLY TWO GOOD SHIPS IN THE NAVY: THE ONE YOU'VE JUST LEFT AND THE ONE YOU'RE GOING TO, NEVER THE ONE YOU'RE ON.

BUT IN THE CASE OF THE "ST. LOUIS," THAT WAS NOT TRUE.

IT WAS A GOOD SHIP, BEGINNING TO END.

NARRATOR: IN 1937, AS 17-YEAR-OLD ST. LOUISAN NANCY LEE MORRILL WAS BEING CROWNED THE "QUEEN OF LOVE AND BEAUTY", BATTLESHIPS AND A WORLD WAR WERE MOST LIKELY THE FURTHEST THINGS FROM HER MIND.

BUT THE FEATHERED TIARA AND ROMANTIC TITLE WOULD LEAD TO HER BECOMING SPONSOR OF ONE OF THE MOST DECORATED U.S. NAVY SHIPS OF ALL TIME.

PAUL: THE NEWSPAPERS DESCRIBED HER AS A VIVACIOUS BRUNETTE.

AND I CAN TESTIFY THE VIVACIOUS.

SHE WAS GRAY BY THE TIME I MET HER, BUT SO KIND AND FRIENDLY.

NARRATOR: RETIRED NAVAL OFFICER AND PROLIFIC AUTHOR, PAUL STILLWELL IS ORIGINALLY FROM SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

PAUL: I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT I HAVE BEEN A FAN OF THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS SINCE 1954, SEEN THEM HUNDREDS OF TIMES, AND THEY REMAIN MY FAVORITE TEAM.

MY HEART BLEEDS CARDINAL RED.

[LAUGHS] NARRATOR: A CAREER AS A HISTORIAN AT THE U.S.

NAVAL INSTITUTE AND AS EDITOR OF THE "NAVAL HISTORY MAGAZINE" TOOK HIM FAR AWAY FROM HIS BELOVED REDBIRDS.

BUT BEFORE MOVING TO ANNAPOLIS, HE WAS CONTRIBUTING ARTICLES TO THE "ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH" AND REACHED OUT TO THE FORMER DEBUTANTE FOR AN INTERVIEW IN 1972.

PAUL: I GOT HER RECOLLECTIONS OF BEING TAPPED TO BE THE SPONSOR OF THE LIGHT CRUISER.

SHE WAS PICKED FOR THE JOB BECAUSE SHE HAD BEEN CROWNED AT THE "VEILED PROPHET BALL."

IT WAS A DEBUTANTE BALL AND SHE WAS JUST COMING OUT.

NARRATOR: MS. MORRILL HAD LONG AGO BECOME MRS. SMITH, BUT HER MEMORIES OF THE "ST. LOUIS" WERE STILL CRYSTAL CLEAR, ESPECIALLY THE CHRISTENING.

PAUL: THE PRESIDENT OF THE SHIPYARD COACHED HER HOW TO SWING THE BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE AGAINST THE HULL OF THE SHIP BECAUSE IT'S CONSIDERED BAD LUCK NOT TO BREAK THE BOTTLE.

BUT IT'S ENCASED IN SOME KIND OF WICKER SO THAT THE SHARDS WON'T FLY AND INJURE PEOPLE.

SO, ACCORDING TO THE ACCOUNTS THAT DAY, SHE HAD A BEAUTIFUL SIDEARM DELIVERY THAT WOULD PUT DIZZY DEAN TO SHAME, MAKE HIM LOOK LIKE A SANDLOTTER.

BUT SHE REALLY TOOK PRIDE IN THE SHIP.

AND THE NAVY DID A NICE JOB OF KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH HER OVER THE YEARS.

THE SHIP HAD BEEN COMMISSIONED, STEAMED IN THE ATLANTIC FOR A WHILE, THEN WAS BASED AT PEARL HARBOR FROM 1940.

THEN ON THE DAY OF 7 DECEMBER 1941, THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR, THE "ST. LOUIS" WAS THERE.

SHE WAS MOORED OUTBOARD OF THE CRUISER "HONOLULU", WHICH WAS A NEAR SISTER SHIP.

THE SHIP WAS IN THE SHIPYARD TO GET A NEW SECRET DEVICE CALLED "RADAR."

SO, THEY HAD SCAFFOLDING UP AROUND THE SUPERSTRUCTURE.

HENRY: WE COULDN'T MOVE BECAUSE WHEN YOU TAKE A SHIP INTO THE NAVY YARD, YOU GO ON WHAT THEY CALL "COLD IRON."

YOU SHUT DOWN ALL YOUR BOILERS, YOU TAKE ALL THE SERVICES FROM THE PIER.

MAN #1: A PEACEFUL, QUIET, EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.

ACCORDING TO THE LOG, IT WAS JUST 7-5-6 WHEN 2 OF OUR OFFICERS SAW IT.

MAN #2: LOOK!

OVER THERE COMING IN OVER FORD ISLAND!

MAN #1: THAT'S FUNNY, THOSE PLANES ARE DARK COLORED.

THEY DON'T LOOK LIKE OURS!

MAN #2: THEY'RE NOT OURS!

NARRATOR: WHEN THE RAID BEGAN, THE "ST. LOUIS" SAT SEEMINGLY HELPLESS -- A SHIP UNDER CONSTRUCTION, ITS BOILERS AND GUNS ICE COLD -- AS FIRE AND SMOKE FILLED THE SKY AND SEA AROUND HER.

BUT THE CREW WAS ALREADY IN ACTION, BRINGING HER BACK TO LIFE.

MAN #1: WE HAD THE "ST. LOUIS'S" FIVE-INCH BATTERY OPERATING IN A MATTER OF MINUTES.

MACHINE-GUN BULLETS AND SHELL FRAGMENTS RICOCHETED OFF THE DECKS, BUT WE KEPT FIRING.

[GUNSHOTS] MAN #2: WE GOT ONE!

MAN #1: BEFORE THE WAR WAS AN HOUR OLD, WE BROUGHT DOWN THREE PLANES -- NOT A BAD BEGINNING FOR "LUCKY LOU."

HENRY: WE ONLY HAD ONE BOMB LANDED FAIRLY CLOSE, AND IT LANDED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE "HONOLULU" AND BLEW UP.

AND I GUESS YOU KNOW THAT WOKE PEOPLE UP ON THE "ST. LOUIS," ESPECIALLY THOSE DUDES THAT WENT DOWN BELOW WHEN THE GENERAL QUARTERS SOUNDED AND DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON.

PAUL: THERE WAS A METAL GANGPLANK THAT WAS CONNECTING THE "ST. LOUIS" TO THE "HONOLULU," SO THEY GOT OUT A WELDING TORCH AND CUT THAT AWAY SO SHE COULD FREE HERSELF.

HENRY: CAPTAIN ALWAYS SWORE THAT HE'D NEVER GIVE ANY ORDER TO PREPARE THE SHIP FOR LEAVING PORT.

THE CREW TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO DO THAT.

THEY PUT THOSE BOILERS TOGETHER, THEY GOT STEAM UP, THEY GOT THOSE GUNS SET UP AND THEN THEY TOLD THE CAPTAIN, "HEY, WE'RE READY TO GO."

OUR CAPTAIN ROOD, HE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE ADMIRAL OVER ON THE "HONOLULU."

CAPTAIN ROOD SAID, "I'M GONNA GO OUT."

THE ADMIRAL SAYS, "YOU'RE NUTS."

HE SAID, "I'M GONNA GO OUT.

I'VE GOT ORDERS TO GO.

I'M GOING."

SO, WE GO.

AT 9:31 IN THE MORNING, WE BACKED OUT OF THE PIER THERE, CRANKED HER UP TO ABOUT 22 KNOTS AND SWUNG BY THE OVERTURNED "OKLAHOMA."

WE SWUNG BY THE "CALIFORNIA," AND WE HEADED RIGHT ON OUT THE CHANNEL.

♪♪ NARRATOR: BUT AS THE "ST. LOUIS" SPRINTED DOWN THE CHANNEL TOWARDS THE OPEN SEA, ANOTHER THREAT WAS WAITING TO STOP HER ESCAPE.

JIM: THE LOOKOUT SPOTTED THE TORPEDOES COMING AT US AS WE WAS GOING OUT OF THE CHANNEL.

A TWO-MAN SUB HAD FIRED AT US.

MAN #2: TWO TORPEDOES ON THE STARBOARD SEEN ABOUT 2,000 YARDS!

JIM: OF COURSE, THEN IN THE ENGINE ROOM, EVERYBODY WAS SUPPOSED TO RUN TO THE OTHER SIDE AND LAY DOWN.

I COULD JUST PICTURE THE MAD RUSH.

AND AT ABOUT THAT TIME, HE SAID, "BELAY."

THAT WORD -- IT WAS TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SHIP.

UNFORTUNATELY, THEY HIT THE CORAL REEFS BEFORE THEY HIT US.

MAN #2: THEY HIT THE REEF!

THEY HIT THE REEF!

JIM: BUT I THINK HE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST CASUALTY ON OUR SHIP IF THOSE ENGINE-ROOM CREWS COULD HAVE GOT TO HIM.

THAT'S FOR SURE.

MAN #1: THAT WAS MIRACLE NUMBER TWO.

"LUCKY LOU" WAS BEGINNING TO EARN HER NAME.

PAUL: AND THE "ST. LOUIS" WAS THE ONLY MAJOR SHIP FROM PEARL HARBOR TO GET INTO THE OPEN OCEAN AT THAT TIME.

NARRATOR: NOT ONLY DID THE "ST. LOUIS" MAKE IT OUT OF THE HARBOR DURING THE ATTACK, BUT ON A DAY OF UNBELIEVABLE LOSS, SHE DID SO WITH ZERO CASUALTIES, EARNING HER THE NAME "LUCKY LOU."

PAUL: "ST. LOUIS" WENT ON TO A PROUD BATTLE RECORD.

SHE WAS IN ON THE FIRST AMERICAN STRIKES ON JAPANESE-HELD TERRITORY IN EARLY 1942.

SHE FOUGHT IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS IN 1943.

NARRATOR: THE "LUCKY LOU" ONCE AGAIN EARNED HER NICKNAME IN THE BATTLE OF KOLOMBANGARA.

[EXPLOSIONS] ARCHIVE NARRATOR: IN THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE KULA GULF, THE U.S. FLEET SUFFERED THE LOSS OF ONE DESTROYER.

BUT IN ADDITION, TWO OF HER FAST CRUISERS WERE SERIOUSLY DAMAGED.

THE "HONOLULU" HAD TAKEN SEVERAL TORPEDOES IN HER SIDE.

THE "ST. LOUIS" WAS ALSO HIT AT THE HEIGHT OF THE BATTLE.

PAUL: A TORPEDO SORTA TWISTED THE BOW OVER LIKE A BOXER'S FACE AFTER HE'S BEEN HIT SEVERAL TIMES.

HOWARD: WE'RE HEADING DOWN THE SLOT REAL FAST, YOU KNOW, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE BOW JUST LIFTED UP OUT OF THE WATER AND IT ALMOST THREW ME OFF THE STERN OF THE SHIP THERE.

CHARLES: IT FELT JUST LIKE WE HAD HIT A STONE WALL WHEN THAT TORPEDO HIT US.

ROBERT: THE BOW WAS LIFTED UP OUT OF THE WATER, AND THEN IT STARTED TO SINK.

AND FOR A WHILE I THOUGHT WE WERE HEADED DOWN TO DAVY JONES.

NARRATOR: MIRACULOUSLY, NOT ONE SAILOR WAS LOST, AND THE "ST. LOUIS" WENT ON TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY.

PAUL: SHE WAS INVOLVED IN THE INVASIONS OF THE MARIANAS ISLANDS IN 1944, THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

SHE WAS AT OKINAWA WHEN THE AMERICANS INVADED THE BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF, WHICH HAS BEEN CALLED THE GREATEST BATTLE IN NAVAL HISTORY.

NARRATOR: IT WAS THERE THAT LUCK NEARLY RAN OUT FOR THE "U.S.S.

ST.

LOUIS."

LEWIS: HEY, YOU'RE ALL GOOD.

THEY GOT A PICTURE BACK HOME OF THE "ST. LOUIS" WITH THE SUICIDE HITLERS, AND THE CAPTION WAS, "SHE WAS SUNK."

RACHEL: BUT I WAS GONNA TELL THAT.

IT CAME OUT IN THE PAPERS THAT THE "ST. LOUIS" WAS HIT.

I WAS SURE, YOU KNOW, I HAD LOST HIM.

DONALD: THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, THE KAMIKAZE -- IT HIT THE CATAPULT, AND SHE JUST BLEW.

THEY TOLD US TO ABANDON OUR MOUNT, AND I WENT TO THE BULKHEAD, GRABBED MY LIFE JACKET, CLIMBING THE LADDER GOING UP TO THE MIDDLE LEVEL, AND I COULDN'T GO.

MY LEG WAS -- I DIDN'T HAVE NO LEG!

RACHEL: I WOULD WAIT FOR THESE LETTERS, YOU KNOW, AND THEY NEVER COME WHEN YOU THOUGHT THEY SHOULD, THEN THAT WOULD BE MORE UNEASE.

BUT WE GOT THROUGH.

♪♪ PAUL: SHE PICKED UP A NUMBER OF BATTLE STARS BECAUSE SHE HAD PERFORMED FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR TO THE END.

AND THEN AFTER THE WAR, IT WAS TIME TO BRING THE BOYS HOME FROM OVERSEAS, SO SHE WAS A FANCY TAXICAB CARRYING THE PEOPLE FROM OVERSEAS BACK TO THE UNITED STATES.

♪♪ AFTER THE WAR, THERE WERE NEWER, MORE MODERN CRUISERS, SO THEY STAYED IN COMMISSION, AND SINCE THE "ST. LOUIS" WAS OLDER, SHE WAS PUT IN THE MOTHBALL FLEET IN CASE SHE WOULD BE CALLED BACK TO OTHER DUTY.

AND SURPRISINGLY, THAT DUTY WAS NOT IN THE U.S. NAVY.

IN 1951, SHE WAS SOLD TO THE BRAZILIAN NAVY.

AND MRS. SMITH AS THE SPONSOR WENT THERE, AND IT WAS A COLD DAY, AND SHE REMEMBERED THAT AS WELL.

THE SHIP WAS RENAMED THE "ALMIRANTE TAMANDARÉ", MEANING ADMIRAL TAMANDARÉ, WHO WAS THE FATHER OF THE BRAZILIAN NAVY.

SO, SHE WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST SHIPS IN THE BRAZILIAN NAVY FOR MANY YEARS.

NARRATOR: EVEN AFTER THE SHIP'S TRANSFER, SHE STILL HELD A SPECIAL PLACE IN THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO HAD SERVED UPON HER.

EXPERIENCING TERROR, VICTORY AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, THE CREW OF THE "LUCKY LOU," FROM TEENAGED SAILORS TO SEASONED OFFICERS, MADE HISTORY TOGETHER UNDER THE NAME "ST.

LOUIS."

♪♪ FRANK: CHRISTENINGS ARE A LOGISTICS CHALLENGE.

THEY'RE A FUNDRAISING CHALLENGE AND ALL THAT.

AND THEN THROW ON TOP OF THAT COVID.

BARBARA: I HAD THE MOST AMAZING COMMISSIONING COMMITTEE.

I MEAN, NOBODY COMPLAINED.

WE WERE ALL JUST THERE TO DO THE JOB AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SHIP HAD A NICE COMMISSIONING CEREMONY.

NARRATOR: BUT THE UNCERTAINTY THAT SURROUNDED THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC MADE ANY KIND OF CEREMONY SEEM UNLIKELY, ESPECIALLY ONE WITH ALL OF THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE THAT USUALLY ACCOMPANIES A COMMISSIONING.

WHEN THE COMMITTEE FIRST BEGAN TO PLAN FOR THE EVENT IN 2017, THEY REACHED OUT TO RETIRED REAR ADMIRAL FRANK THORP, WHO WAS WORKING ON COMMISSIONING THE "SIOUX CITY" AT THE UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY.

FRANK: THEY CAME TO OUR COMMISSIONING IN NOVEMBER OF 2017, AND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HOST THEM SEVERAL TIMES HERE IN ANNAPOLIS.

NARRATOR: AS FATE WOULD HAVE IT, ADMIRAL THORP WAS LENDING A HAND TO THE SUCCESSOR OF THE SHIP THAT HELD A SPECIAL PLACE IN HIS HEART.

FRANK: MY FIRST SHIP WAS A "U.S.S.

ST.

LOUIS."

THEY CALL YOU A "BOOT ENSIGN," AND YOU ARE.

YOU ARE SO NAÏVE AND SO YOUNG AND JUST SO IDEALISTIC.

MATTER OF FACT, WHEN I WALKED ONTO THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS LKA-116," WHEN I WALKED ON FOR THE FIRST TIME, IT WAS BEING PAINTED, AND THE HULL DIDN'T HAVE A NUMBER ON IT.

AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU, I WAS SCARED TO DEATH I WAS WALKING ON THE WRONG SHIP.

NARRATOR: THE "LKA-116" WAS AN AMPHIBIOUS CARGO SHIP THAT STARTED HER CAREER DURING THE VIETNAM WAR.

SHE EARNED A CAMPAIGN STAR FOR HER PART IN THE EASTER OFFENSIVE IN MAY OF 1972 AFTER OFFLOADING SOUTH VIETNAMESE MARINES AND U.S. NAVY-SEAL SQUADS DURING THE ASSAULT.

THIS "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" WOULD CONTINUE TO SERVE ALL OVER THE WORLD THROUGH THE EARLY 1990s WHEN SHE PARTICIPATED IN "OPERATION SEA ANGEL," PROVIDING SUPPORT AND HUMANITARIAN AID IN BANGLADESH AFTER A DEVASTATING TROPICAL CYCLONE.

SHE HAD A SIMILAR ROLE IN "OPERATION FIERY VIGIL" AFTER A VOLCANIC ERUPTION AND SUBSEQUENT EARTHQUAKES OCCURRED IN THE PHILIPPINES.

THE "LKA-116" WAS DECOMMISSIONED AND PUT ON RESERVE IN 1992 AFTER ALMOST 23 YEARS IN SERVICE.

FRANK: THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS LKA-116" WAS A GREAT SHIP.

IT GOT MY CAREER OFF TO A GREAT START.

THERE ARE CHIEFS ON THAT SHIP WHO I AM HERE TODAY BECAUSE OF THOSE CHIEFS.

I MEAN, GROWING UP IN ANNAPOLIS, GOING TO THE NAVAL ACADEMY AND HAVING A GREAT CAREER, VERY FORTUNATE CAREER IN THE NAVY, WHEN I RETIRED AND MOVED BACK TO ANNAPOLIS, I THOUGHT, HOW CAN I GIVE BACK?

MY CLASSMATE AT THE TIME WAS THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE NAVAL ACADEMY, AND SO WE CONSPIRED TOGETHER TO COMMISSION A SHIP.

WE DID THAT IN NOVEMBER OF 2017, AND IT WAS A TREMENDOUSLY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE.

AND I COMMITTED MYSELF TO HELP THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAD NEVER DONE IT BEFORE, LIKE ME, AND NOT HAVE TO LEARN SOME OF THE LESSONS THE HARD WAY.

SAILOR: SET THE WATCH ON DECK, SECTION ONE.

NARRATOR: BUT, OF COURSE, NO ONE COULD PLAN FOR WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN 2020 AND HOW THAT WOULD IMPACT THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS'S" BIG DAY.

DAWN: I WOULD SAY THE MILITARY DID A REALLY GREAT JOB BECAUSE THEY NEED TO KEEP THEIR CREWS AND THEIR VESSELS MISSION-READY, SO THEY LOCK DOWN PRETTY HARD.

BARBARA: WE ROLLED WITH IT.

WE JUST HAD THE CEREMONY.

WE LIVE-STREAMED IT SO PEOPLE HERE IN ST. LOUIS COULD SEE IT, TOO.

LT BOGAN: THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST SHIP TO HAVE AN IN-PERSON COMMISSIONING CEREMONY IN THE KIND OF POST-COVID ENVIRONMENT.

SO, HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THE COMMISSIONING-COMMITTEE TEAM FROM WASHINGTON, D.C., ABOUT HOW WE WERE GOING TO DO THAT SAFELY BUT STILL BE ABLE TO DO KIND OF THE TRADITIONAL ELEMENTS OF THAT PROGRAM -- THE LONG GLASS CEREMONY, SETTING THE FIRST WATCH AND SETTING THE FIRST OFFICER OF THE DECK, HAVING THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY PLACE THE SHIP IN COMMISSION AND HAVING THE COMMANDER OF U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND BE PRESENT AND FLY HIS FLAG ON THE SHIP -- WAS AN EXPERIENCE THAT I'M SO THANKFUL WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE IN PERSON.

NARRATOR: AND AFTER YEARS OF PLANNING AND MONTHS OF RE-ADJUSTING FOR COVID, THE TIME HAD FINALLY COME FOR BARBARA TAYLOR TO GIVE THE SPONSOR'S TRADITIONAL COMMAND.

BARBARA: COMMANDER HAGAN, OFFICERS AND CREW OF THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS," MAN OUR SHIP AND BRING HER TO LIFE.

ALL: AYE, AYE, MA'AM!

BARBARA: YES!

[BAND PLAYS "ANCHORS AWEIGH"] BARBARA: MY ONLY REGRET WAS THAT NONE OF MY COMMISSIONING COMMITTEE COULD COME AND NEITHER COULD THE FAMILIES OF THE CREW MEMBERS.

AND AS IT WAS POINTED OUT TO ME, THE COMMISSIONING IN THE NAVY IS REALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT OF THE SHIP.

FRANK: IT'S THE DAY WHEN THE SHIP AND THE CREW COME TOGETHER, AND IT'S A CELEBRATION, AND THE FAMILY AND THE FRIENDS ARE THERE.

I WOULD COMPARE IT TO A WEDDING.

NARRATOR: SO, IT WAS FITTING THAT THE COMMISSIONING DATE ALSO HAPPENED TO BE BARBARA AND ANDY TAYLOR'S 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY.

BARBARA: JUST LIKE MY WEDDING VOWS, I AM DEDICATED TO OUR SHIP AND HER CREW UNTIL DEATH DO US PART.

WE HAD A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM THE ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY.

THE SYMPHONY DID A WHOLE VERSION OF "ANCHORS AWEIGH", INCORPORATED PICTURES OF THE CREW WHILE THEY WERE HERE IN ST. LOUIS.

IT WAS LOVELY.

IT WAS A GREAT THING FOR THE SYMPHONY TO DO.

ASN WILLIAMS: WHENEVER YOU COMMISSION A SHIP, IT'S A BIG EVENT, AND BECAUSE IT WAS THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS," I WAS VERY INTERESTED.

AS IT WORKED OUT, I WAS ASKED IF I WOULD BE THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER.

THIS, FOR ME -- BEING A KID FROM ST. LOUIS, WENT TO RITENOUR HIGH SCHOOL -- I WAS PRETTY HUMBLED, FRANKLY, THINKING ABOUT BEING ON THE STAGE WITH THE TAYLORS, WITH A FOUR-STAR COMBATANT COMMANDER, TO GO OUT THERE AND MAKE SOME REMARKS AND TALK ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE PREVIOUS SHIPS NAMED AFTER ST. LOUIS, TO TALK ABOUT THE SEVENTH AND TALK TO THE CREW.

GO MAKE YOUR OWN HISTORY BUT NEVER FORGET THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE YOU, THE STRATEGIC MISSIONS THAT YOU'VE BEEN TRUSTED TO SUPPORT AND THE LEGACY THAT YOU AND THIS SHIP WILL CARRY ON FROM THIS DAY FORWARD.

ANYTIME A SHIP LEAVES PORT, IT GOES IN HARM'S WAY.

THINGS CAN HAPPEN, AND SO, GO OUT THERE AND DO THE BEST YOU CAN AND RECOGNIZE WHO YOU REPRESENT.

DAWN: WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING FUN FOR THE CREW TO CELEBRATE THE DAY, SO WHAT WE ENDED UP DOING WAS WE GOT THESE FABULOUS COOLERS WITH THE SHIP'S CREST ON 'EM AND WE HAD BOX LUNCHES PREPARED.

AND SO, THEY WERE ABLE TO TAKE DINNER HOME FOR THEIR FAMILIES AFTER THE COMMISSIONING EVENT, WHICH AT LEAST WAS A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, TOKEN OF OUR APPRECIATION FOR THEM, EVEN IF NOT QUITE THE GRAND EVENTS WE HAD HOPED TO DO.

I'M A FORMER NAVAL OFFICER.

I SERVED IN THE NAVY FOR SEVEN YEARS.

IT WAS ACTUALLY REALLY FUN AND KINDA NOSTALGIC BEING INVOLVED WITH SOMETHING RELATED TO THE NAVY AGAIN.

FRANK: WHAT THE "ST. LOUIS" COMMISSIONING COMMITTEE HAS DONE IN A VERY DIFFICULT TIME OF A PANDEMIC IS SIMPLY EYE-WATERING.

AND I WILL TELL YOU, THE COMMISSIONING CREW OF THE "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" WILL NEVER FORGET THAT.

NARRATOR: AND IN 2020, COVID WASN'T THE ONLY CHALLENGE FACING CREWS OF SOME "L.C.S."

FREEDOM-CLASS SHIPS.

WITH ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY COME GROWING PAINS, THIS TIME IN THE FORM OF COMPLICATIONS TO THE PROPULSION SYSTEM, WHICH LIMITED OPERATIONS UNTIL A SOLUTION WAS FOUND.

BUT ADAPTING TO CHALLENGES IS JUST PART OF THE JOB FOR SAILORS, ALL MADE WORTH IT WHEN EXCITING MOMENTS LIKE THESE HAPPEN IN THEIR CAREER.

LT BOGAN: BEING A PART OF A BRAND-NEW SHIP AND A BRAND-NEW CREW IS AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE.

IN THE NAVY, WE CALL THAT "BEING A PLANKOWNER", BEING ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO BE ONBOARD.

NARRATOR: TO COMMEMORATE THEIR PART IN THE COMMISSIONING, PLANKOWNERS ARE GIVEN A SPECIAL MEMENTO.

DON: ONE OF OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, A NAVAL VETERAN, WAS ABLE TO PROCURE WOOD FROM THE DECK OF THE "U.S.S.

MISSOURI" WHERE THE -- IN WORLD WAR II WHERE THE PEACE TREATY WAS SIGNED.

SO, EVERY PLANKOWNER HAS A PIECE OF THE "U.S.S.

MISSOURI'S" DECK ON THIS PLAQUE THAT IS ANOTHER AMAZING TOKEN MEMORY OF OUR HISTORY AS A COUNTRY BUT ALSO TYING IT BACK TO ST. LOUIS AND MISSOURI.

ZEHRA: IT'S A VERY BIG DEAL TO BE PART OF THE NAVY HISTORY AND CREATION OF THIS CREW AND THIS SHIP, BRINGING HER TO LIFE.

NARRATOR: SHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY GENERALLY HAVE ABOUT A 30-YEAR CAREER.

NEW TECHNOLOGY, WAR OR SIMPLY THE PASSAGE OF TIME WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO DECOMMISSIONING.

HAVING SERVED THE LONGEST OF THE SHIPS NAMED "ST. LOUIS," THE SLOOP OF WAR WAS DECOMMISSIONED IN 1865 BUT REMAINED ON THE NAVY LIST AS A RECEIVING SHIP AND SOMETIME TRAINING VESSEL UNTIL 1906.

THE FOLLOWING YEAR, SHE WAS SCRAPPED AT THE RESPECTABLE AGE OF 80.

HER CIVIL-WAR SISTER ON THE RIVER, THE IRONCLAD "ST. LOUIS," SUNK UNDER THE NAME OF "BARON DE KALB" AFTER HITTING A MINE IN 1863.

THE PASSENGER LINER TURNED "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" DURING BOTH THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR AND WORLD WAR I WAS EVENTUALLY RETURNED TO THE OWNER.

BUT WHILE MODIFICATIONS WERE BEING MADE TO TURN HER BACK INTO A COMMERCIAL VESSEL, SHE CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED DOWN TO HER STEEL HULL IN 1920 AND WAS SCRAPPED IN 1925.

THE PROTECTED CRUISER "ST. LOUIS" WAS ALSO SCRAPPED IN 1930, WHILE THE "LKA-116" WAS SUNK AS PART OF A TRAINING EXERCISE IN 2018.

[EXPLOSION] NARRATOR: PERHAPS FITTINGLY, THE "LUCKY LOU" HAD THE MOST INTERESTING FINAL CHAPTER.

AFTER HAVING A SUCCESSFUL 25-YEAR CAREER IN THE BRAZILIAN NAVY, THE FORMER "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS CL-49" WAS DECOMMISSIONED AND HEADED FOR SCRAPPING.

PAUL: THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TAKEN TO THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS AND PRESENTED TO THE SPONSOR, MRS. SMITH, SO SHE MAINTAINED AN INTEREST REALLY FROM BEGINNING TO END.

MARK: WE'RE EXTREMELY PROUD TO HAVE THAT IN THE COLLECTION AND TO BE ABLE TO -- YOU KNOW, THROUGH THAT PIECE BE ABLE TO TELL THE STORY OF THE "LUCKY LOU" AND ITS -- YOU KNOW, ITS ESCAPE FROM PEARL HARBOR AND ITS ADVENTURES IN THAT WAR.

PAUL: IT IS NOT LITERALLY TRUE THAT A SHIP IS AN ANIMATE OBJECT, BUT THOSE OF US WHO HAVE SERVED IN WARSHIPS BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE SOULS.

SO, WE HAVE A HARD TIME THINKING OF WARSHIPS AS JUST PIECES OF STEEL.

THE FORMER SAILORS FROM THE "ST. LOUIS" MOUNTED A CAMPAIGN TO SAVE HER, PRESERVE HER IN ST. LOUIS AS A MUSEUM, BUT THAT FELL THROUGH.

BUT IT'S A NICE THOUGHT THAT IT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED.

THE REAL END CAME IN 1980.

SHE WAS BEING TOWED TO TAIWAN FOR SCRAPPING.

NARRATOR: MAYBE IT WAS HONORING THE SPIRIT OF DEFIANCE AND GRIT THAT HER CREW HAD SHOWN AS THEY SWIFTLY BROUGHT HER TO LIFE THAT DECEMBER MORNING AT PEARL HARBOR, OR MAYBE IT WAS THE RESIDUAL PRIDE OF THE 11 BATTLE STARS THEY EARNED TOGETHER ALL OVER THE SOUTH PACIFIC AND ASIA, BUT THE "LUCKY LOU" WASN'T ABOUT TO GET SCRAPPED.

PAUL: WHEN SHE CAME AROUND THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE AT THE SOUTHERN TIP OF AFRICA, THE TOWLINE PARTED AND SHE SANK.

SO, SOMEWHERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN LIES THE FORMER "ST. LOUIS" PRETTY MUCH INTACT THE WAY SHE WAS WHEN SHE WAS IN THE U.S. NAVY.

BARBARA: AS PART OF MY ROLE AS A SPONSOR, I ALSO GIVE THE SHIP A GIFT.

THE ONE THAT I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR, FOR OVER TWO YEARS, WAS A FLAG FROM THE "LUCKY LOU."

IT WAS VERY FRAGILE, A LOT OF BATTLE SCARS ON IT.

I HAD A CONSERVATOR AT THE ART MUSEUM REFRESH IT FOR ME.

I TOLD HER, I SAID, "LEAVE THE HOLES AND LEAVE THE FRAYED END 'CAUSE IT WAS AT PEARL HARBOR."

WE FOLDED IT UP AND PUT IT IN A GLASS BOX, AND I GAVE THAT TO THEM AFTER THE COMMISSIONING.

ZEHRA: CARRYING ON THE NAME OF THE "LUCKY LOU", HAVING HER CONNECTED ON OUR CREST AND IN OUR HISTORY IS ABSOLUTELY HUMBLING.

BIG SHOES THAT WE NEED TO FILL.

♪♪ MICHAEL: MY DAD DIED WHEN I WAS A YOUNG MAN.

I NEVER GOT TO ASK HIM ABOUT WORLD WAR II.

IN 1996, THEY WERE DEDICATING THE BRASS WHEEL OF THE "ST. LOUIS" IN THE "SOLDIERS MUSEUM."

NARRATOR: CURIOUS TO LEARN ABOUT HIS FATHER'S EXPERIENCE IN THE WAR, MICHAEL BACKAUSKAS TRAVELED FROM LOS ANGELES TO ATTEND THE CEREMONY.

MICHAEL: I MET SOME OF THE SHIPMATES AND FOUND OUT THEY WERE HAVING A REUNION THE NEXT YEAR.

♪♪ MAN #3: BRING YOUR CHAIRS OVER HERE, GUYS.

MAN #4: NOW WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE IT.

MAN #5: HOW ABOUT THAT, FELLAS?

MAN #6: HEY, THAT LOOKS GOOD.

PAUL: ONE OF THE GREAT PRACTICES IS TO HAVE REUNIONS OF FORMER CREW MEMBERS.

AND I HAVE BEEN TO A NUMBER OF THEM MYSELF.

AND WE TELL THE SAME OLD STORIES AND LIES EVERY TIME WE GET TOGETHER, BUT THAT MEMORY HAS BECOME PART OF YOURSELF, PART OF YOUR PSYCHE.

FRANK: THE METAL OF A SHIP MAY STOP.

THE CREW WILL LIVE ON FOREVER.

MICHAEL: WHEN I FIRST WENT TO THIS REUNION, I PUT A PICTURE OF MY DAD ON MY SHIRT LIKE THIS SO THAT MAYBE SOMEBODY WOULD RECOGNIZE HIM.

THERE WAS THIS GUY -- HIS NAME WAS REUBEN SUMNER BLOSSOM.

HE KNEW MY DAD VERY WELL.

THIS IS MY DAD, AND THIS IS -- THIS IS BLOSSOM WITH -- GETTING THEIR PICTURE TAKEN WITH A HULA GIRL.

[LAUGHS] SO, I MET HIM AND HIS WIFE, BEULAH BLOSSOM.

AND IT WAS GREAT.

NARRATOR: FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS, MICHAEL ATTENDED EVERY REUNION, SOMETIMES BRINGING ALONG A VIDEO CAMERA TO CAPTURE THE VETERANS' EXPERIENCES.

MICHAEL: I REALLY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE "U.S.S.

ST.

LOUIS."

SO, I LEARNED FROM THEM AS I VIDEOTAPED THEM.

I LET THEM TALK.

THEY TOLD ME -- THEY PRETTY MUCH DECIDED WHAT THE IMPORTANT THINGS WERE.

JOHN: IT HAPPENED.

THE TORPEDO HIT.

I STOOD UP.

I SAID, "WHAT DO I DO?"

I WANTED TO GO FOR THE HATCH.

I WANTED TO GET OUT, OR GIVE ME SOMETHING TO DO.

MICHAEL: THE NEXT TIME I DID VIDEOTAPING, WHICH WAS THREE, FOUR YEARS LATER, I GOT FOOTAGE FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND I SHOWED IT TO THEM SO THAT THEY COULD SEE IT AND THEN RESPOND TO IT.

WHEN YOU HAVE DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT PEARL HARBOR, THEY'RE ALL ABOUT THE SHIPS THAT SANK.

AND "ST. LOUIS" WAS THE ONLY MAJOR WARSHIP TO GET OUT OF THE HARBOR.

FOR SOME REASON, THEY DON'T -- THEY DON'T GET ANY RECOGNITION FOR THAT.

NARRATOR: ...WHICH MADE THESE CHANCES TO MEET AND REMEMBER ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT FOR THE VETERANS OF THE "LUCKY LOU."

MICHAEL: THEY REALLY SAVORED THOSE REUNIONS AND GETTING TOGETHER.

AND ALL THEIR FAMILIES -- THEY BRING ALL THEIR FAMILIES WITH THEM.

MICHAEL: DID YOU TWO GET MARRIED DURING THE WAR?

ODELLA: WE GOT MARRIED ON NOVEMBER 22nd, AND THE WAR BROKE OUT DECEMBER 7th.

MICHAEL: OH, MY GOSH.

ODELLA: AND HE SAID TWO WEEKS WITH ME WAS ENOUGH, SO HE LEFT.

HE WENT AND ENLISTED IN THE NAVY.

VERNON: SHE SAID, "HIM AND I WERE MARRIED 55 YEARS."

SHE SAID, "THE ONLY REASON HE HAD LEFT WAS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO KISS ME GOODBYE."

ODELLA: [LAUGHS] VERNON: THIS IS AFTER THE BATTLE OF KOLOMBANGARA.

MICHAEL: THAT'S YOU?

VERNON: THAT'S ME.

MICHAEL: WHEN YOU WERE EXCHANGING LETTERS, DID THEY GET CENSORED?

ODELLA: OH, YEAH.

VERNON: OH, YEAH.

MICHAEL: SO, THEY ARRIVED WITH WHAT?

BLACKED OUT OR CUT OUT OR...?

ODELLA: YEAH.

MICHAEL: YEAH.

IT FELT LIKE THIS WAS MY REUNION, EVEN THOUGH I WAS ONLY A SON.

TO LEARN ABOUT MY FATHER FROM THESE GUYS AND WHAT HE WAS UP AGAINST WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME.

NARRATOR: BUT SHIPMATES AREN'T THE ONLY MEMBERS OF THE CREW TO HAVE REUNIONS.

PAUL: THERE IS AN ORGANIZATION CALLED THE "SOCIETY OF SPONSORS", AND THEY GET TOGETHER FOR ANNUAL LUNCHES.

AND THERE'S A FEELING OF COMMUNITY THERE BECAUSE EACH OF THEM HAS DONE SOMETHING THAT VERY FEW OTHER PEOPLE GET TO DO.

BARBARA: YOU KNOW, I STARTED MY LIFE IN THE MILITARY.

MY FATHER WAS AN AIR-FORCE GENERAL.

AND SO, I GREW UP IN THE MILITARY.

AND IT'S JUST SORT OF, LIKE, BEEN, YOU KNOW, THE CIRCLE OF LIFE THAT I AM SORT OF ENDING UP BEING IN THE MILITARY AGAIN.

FRANK: "U.S.S.

ST. LOUIS" IS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE BARBARA TAYLOR AS THE SPONSOR.

THEY'RE GONNA HAVE AN ADVOCATE FOR 30 YEARS SINGING THEIR PRAISE AND PROVIDING THEM OPPORTUNITIES.

DAWN: WE WANT TO LEAVE A LEGACY FOR THE CREW, SO WE'VE RAISED ENOUGH MONEY TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT A SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION THAT WILL FUND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE CREW AND THEIR DEPENDENTS THROUGH THE LIFETIME OF THE SHIP.

AND THAT'S A GREAT CONNECTION TO MAINTAIN WITH THE CITY THAT REALLY SHOWS OUR GRATITUDE TO OUR SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES WHO REALLY ALSO SERVE.

CDR HAGAN: THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT ABOUT BEING OUT TO SEA IS BEING AWAY FROM FAMILY -- MY WIFE AND MY THREE CHILDREN.

IT'S VERY DIFFICULT MISSING PARTS OF THEIR GROWING UP.

FRANK: IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE IN ST. LOUIS KNOW ABOUT WHAT THOSE MEN AND WOMEN ARE DOING WHEN THEY GO TO SEA.

DAWN: THINK ABOUT THE STUDENTS THAT THE CREW GOT TO INTERACT WITH.

THEY SEE THAT THERE'S OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE THAT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO EXPLORE.

FRANK: FOR ST. LOUIS SCHOOL SYSTEM TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SHIP, IT'S A CIVICS LESSON.

IT'S A NATIONAL-SECURITY LESSON.

THESE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO WERE JUST THEM TEN YEARS AGO AND NOW THEY'RE OFF DOING SOMETHING BIGGER THAN THEMSELVES.

TARA: I FEEL THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THIS CREW, ABOUT THIS SHIP.

AND READING THROUGH THE HISTORY AND "LUCKY LOU", YOU DEFINITELY FEEL IT A LITTLE BIT ON THE SHIP.

CMDCM ELLISON: WE COME FROM ALL DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE, ALL DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE COUNTRY.

TO BE ABLE TO SEE ALL OF US COME TOGETHER AND WORK TOGETHER AS ONE TEAM TO EXECUTE ONE MISSION, IT'S QUITE AMAZING.

NARRATOR: MANY SAILORS WILL SERVE ON "LCS-19" DURING HER TIME IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

AND WHEN THEIR TIME COMES TO START HAVING REUNIONS AND SHARING THEIR MEMORIES, EVEN IF THEIR PATHS HAVE NEVER CROSSED, THEY ARE STILL CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER AND TO ALL THE CREWS WHO HAVE SERVED ON A SHIP NAMED "ST.

LOUIS."

♪♪ ASN WILLIAMS: GO MAKE YOUR OWN HISTORY BUT NEVER FORGET THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE YOU.

I KNOW YOU WILL MAKE ST. LOUISANS AND ALL AMERICANS PROUD.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪