The Mighty Moo

May 17, 2025 9:35am

In high school, we learned that after years of intense sea battles, terrifying kamikaze attacks, and grueling amphibious assaults on heavily defended islands, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki finally convinced the Empire of Japan to surrender. That surrender ceremony occurred in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945 aboard "The Mighty Mo" - the battleship USS Missouri.

Recently, I was at the bookstore looking for a book to read. I saw "The Mighty Moo" on the shelf. The Mighty What??? Mighty Moo? Never heard of it. I knew about Cowpens, the Revolutionary War battle in South Carolina that set in motion a series of events that lead to America's victory at Yorktown. But the ship? The USS Cowpens? Nope. New to me. So I bought the book and read it.

The Mighty Moo was the only American aircraft carrier in Tokyo Bay during the surrender. Before that day, she participated in nearly every major carrier operation in the Pacific from 1943 - 1945. The book "The Mighty Moo: The USS Cowpens and Her Epic World War II Journey from Jinx Ship to the Navy's First Carrier into Tokyo Bay" tells her story.

But a ship is just a hunk of floating steel without her crew. This book tells the gripping account of the Mighty Moo's crew that fought valiantly - against not just the Japanese but against the "Cowpens Jinx" also - to help bring about the Allied victory in the Pacific.

Nathan Canestaro, the book's author, joined me on today's radio show to discuss this little-known but important piece of American history. He shared the riveting story of The Mighty Moo. And that's no bull. The program is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/250517

The book can be purchased at www.amazon.com/Mighty-Moo-Cowpens-Journey-Carrier/dp/1538742713