Post-war
West Virginia drilled her landing force in preparation for the upcoming occupation of the enemy's homeland and sailed for Tokyo Bay on 24 August as part of TG 35.90. She reached Tokyo Bay on the last day of August and was thus present (as one of two representative ships that were also at the 7 December 1941 Pearl Harbor attack along with the USS Detroit) at the time of the formal surrender on 2 September 1945. For that occasion, five musicians from West Virginia's band were transferred temporarily to Missouri to play at the ceremonies.
West Virginia played her part in the occupation, remaining in Tokyo Bay into September 1945. On 14 September, she received on board 270 passengers for transportation to the west coast of the United States. She got underway at midnight on 20 September bound for Okinawa as part of TG 30.4. Shifting to Buckner Bay on 23 September, the battleship sailed for Pearl Harbor soon thereafter, reaching her destination on 4 October.
There, the crew painted ship and kept on board only those passengers slated for transportation to San Diego, California. Bound for that port on 9 October, West Virginia moored at the Navy Pier at San Diego at 1328 on 22 October. Two days later, Rear Admiral I. C. Sowell hauled down his flag as Commander, BatDiv 4.
On Navy Day, 25,554 visitors (more the next day) came on board the ship. Three days later, on 30 October, she got underway for Hawaiian waters to take her place as part of Operation Magic Carpet returning veteran soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen home to the states. After one run between San Diego and Pearl Harbor, West Virginia made another, the second time embarking Rear Admiral William W. Smith, who broke his flag in the battleship for the return voyage to San Francisco, California.
After making yet another run between the West Coast and Hawaii, West Virginia reached San Pedro, California, on 17 December. There, she spent Christmas debarking her third draft of passengers. The veteran battlewagon upped-anchor on 4 January 1946 and sailed for Bremerton, Washington. She reached her destination on 12 January and commenced inactivation soon thereafter, shifting to Seattle, Washington, on 16 January, where she moored alongside sistership Colorado.
West Virginia entered her final stages of inactivation in the latter part of February 1946 and was decommissioned on 9 January 1947 and placed in reserve, as part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She never again received the call to active duty, remaining inactive until struck from the Naval Vessel Registry on 1 March 1959. On 24 August, she was sold for scrapping to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corp. of New York City.
Read more about this topic: USS West Virginia (BB-48)
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