HAMPTON ROADS, Va — It's been several years in the making, and it's finally happening.
The USS Iowa Battleship's barrel began moving from the marine specialty painting facility in Portsmouth to Cape Henry in Virginia Beach Monday night. The 120-ton barrel moved on a special, heavy-duty trailer through the streets and highways of Portsmouth to Virginia Beach.
I-264, I-64 and Pacific Avenue will be most impacted.
Officials say it will take at least six hours to move it and they will arrive at Fort Story around 4 a.m. Tuesday.
It's the last of nine restored USS Iowa battleship gun barrels to be displayed permanently. Some found homes in places like Arizona, Delaware and New Jersey. One is displayed in Norfolk. Organizers said the restoration and move took a lot of preparation and planning.
Veteran AJ Marchigiani's team at Marine Specialty Painting worked for months. They refinished the barrel for free with help from community members and donations, like the donation of paint from Sherwin-Williams.
Marchigiani said it's not only a piece of history, but the project was personal.
"That was my first ship that I was on," said Marchigiani, president of Marine Specialty Painting.
He remembered the tragedy tied to the ship.
Forty-seven sailors were killed on the USS Iowa 34 years ago when a gun turret exploded on the Norfolk-based battleship on April 19, 1989. It's remembered as one of the worst peace-time disasters ever for the Navy.
"Unfortunately we lost a lot of good sailors," said Marchigiani.
A memorial ceremony was held at Naval Station Norfolk one month ago in the anniversary of the disaster.
Now, the restored pieces will mean something more. They'll be displayed near the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse to honor veterans and those lost.
To get the battleship piece to this point was a logisitical challenge, said Coast Defense Study Group officer Terry McGovern. The Navy planned to scrap the barrel unless a qualified organization came to pick it up.
"Each barrel is 70 feet long and 120 tons so it's not something you can put in the back of your pickup truck," said McGovern.
It's not just the barrel either. Two projectiles are going to be displayed as well.
"Kind of like the shell going in and the shell going out . . . I hope that [perspective] will give people a better understanding of what this big metal thing is," said McGovern.
McGovern said the effort to move the objects is worth it.
"It will help tell the story of the people that helped defend the capes here and the defenses of Hampton Roads, which up to now hasn't really been told," said McGovern.
Marchigiani agreed. "I'm proud to do it."
He said some of his workers volunteered to retouch the barrel for April 19th each year.
