UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — On and near Penn State's University Park campus are commemoratives of the battleship Pennsylvania, reminders of the historic attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor that led to America's entry into World War II.
On Dec. 7, 1941, the Pennsylvania was in dry dock at Pearl Harbor and was spared the heavy damage inflicted on the other battleships there. She was one of the first ships in the harbor to open fire during the aerial attack. Quickly repaired, the Pennsylvania went on to participate in most of the major Pacific theatre engagements of World War II.
It is not known precisely how many Penn Staters served aboard the Pennsylvania during almost four years of war, but it's a safe bet that dozens did, especially when those sailors are included who enrolled on the G.I. Bill after the war.
Too old and battle-damaged for further service after the war's end in 1945, the Pennsylvania was used in tests in the Pacific to study the effects of atomic bomb blasts on warships. Even then, the sturdy battleship could not be sunk, and after decommissioning had to be scuttled by the Navy in 1948.