The Missouri Memorial Association (MMA) conducted a shipcheck of the USS Missouri in late October, 1997 in Bremerton, Washington. The purpose of the shipcheck was to examine the ship and identify any problems that may be encountered prior to her tow to Hawaii.

Additionally, the MMA had requested the shipcheck team to prepare recommendations how to best convert her from a warship to a museum memorial. The shipcheck team recommended which compartments should be opened to visitors and which ones should remain closed and under dehumidification for ship preservation.

Mr. Richard Landgraff of Dreadnaught Consulting (DC) located in Long Beach, California Beach led the shipcheck team. He compiled a team of experts from both NavSea in Washington, DC and several former Long Beach Shipyard employees who are experts in the systems of the Iowa Class Battleships. All of the shipcheck team should be commended for their generosity and devotion to preserving this great warship. They all took a week out of their lives to volunteer their expertise and worked many tireless nights putting together their recommendations for the MMA.