The historic Tazewell County Courthouse is the new home of a piece of the county's history.
A display that commemorates the USS Tazewell, a Haskell-class attack transport ship that was in service with the U.S. Navy from 1944-46, was dedicated Wednesday on the 80th anniversary of the Invasion of Okinawa, a major battle in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
The USS Tazewell participated in the Invasion of Okinawa, bringing troops there.
The 455-foot-long, nearly 7,000-ton ship that could place 87 officers and 1,475 enlisted troops onto 24 landing crafts and had a crew of 56 officers and 480 enlisted sailors was named for Tazewell County in both Illinois and Virginia.
The USS Tazewell display, located on the main floor of the courthouse in downtown Pekin, includes the only remaining physical remnants of the ship, which was sold for scrap for $51,000 in 1972 to Zidell Explorations of Portland, Ore.
The remnants are the red port side and green starboard side navigational lights. The lights are displayed on a shelf that contains oak and marble left over from the construction of the courthouse, which was dedicated in 1916.
"The lights have not been restored. You can see scuff marks and paint chips on them," said Tazewell County Clerk and Recorder John Ackerman, who hosted the dedication after obtaining the lights on permanent loan from the U.S. Navy and putting together the display with help from other county officials and employees.
"I was asked if we wanted the lights. I said 'Sure!" How can you turn that down?" Ackerman said.
There's also a photo of the USS Tazewell in San Francisco Bay in 1946 in the display. On the deck of the ship are troops returning home from the war, seeing the U.S. shore for the first time since the fighting ended, as part of Operation Magic Carpet.
"What a heart-warming moment that must have been," Ackerman said.
Ackerman said the USS Tazewell was apparently an unknown part of Tazewell County's history until he learned about it in a Google search and started looking into it.
"I didn't talk to anybody in Tazewell County who knew about it," he said. "When I would tell people about it, they'd say, 'Wow, really?'
"It's great that this display about the USS Tazewell, a source of honor for our county, is in the courthouse for our residents and future generations to see."
Next to the display on a table is a two-sided handout with details about the USS Tazewell, its participation in the Invasion of Okinawa and Operation Magic Carpet, its service record, and the photo and navigational lights.
There's also a pamphlet on the table that provides information for a self-guided tour of the courthouse, which contains many historic artifacts and photos.
Randy McDaniels, president of McDaniels Marketing in Pekin, also was a speaker at the USS Tazewell display dedication.
Eugene "Mac" McDaniels, Randy McDaniels' father, died in 1993 at age 66. Eugene McDaniels served as a private first class Seabee in the U.S. Navy during World War II and fought in the Invasion of Okinawa, which lasted for 82 days, from April 1 through June 22, 1945.
The invasion, called by historians the bloodiest and fiercest battle in the Pacific Theater during World War II, was won by the Allies and helped lead to the end of the war but resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties.
U.S. servicemen had a different name for the invasion.
"My father said they called it the 'Mop-Up Invasion," Randy McDaniels said.
