BB-62 New Jersey was laid down in the Philadelphia Navy Yard in September 1940 as the second ship of Iowa class battleships. New Jersey entered service in May 1943 and experienced several battles in the Pacific Ocean with Iowa. In 1944 she became the flagship of the 3rd fleet with Adm. Halsey on board and in August 1944 she left Pearl Harbor to participate in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In 1945 New Jersey participated in Battle of Okinawa as the flagship of the 7th Battleship Squadron and supported the landing attack. After a short respite New Jersey was back to the battlefield for the Korean War, where she supported the landing attacks to Wonsan in May 1951. In 1968 New Jersey returned for the Vietnam War, firing off the coasts until December. In 1980 the Reagan administration ordered the revival of Iowa class ships in order to beef up the US naval force. New Jersey was the first to be modernized and re-entered service in December 1982 with Harpoon, Tomahawk, and Cutting-edge electric devices. In July 1983 she participated in the blockade mission in Nicaragua. Subsequently she bombarded the positions of Syria. Finally Iowa class ships were formally deleted from the Navy list as the US cut expenses after the Cold War. New Jersey is now preserved as a memorial ship in Bayonne, N.J.
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