Vince Tokarz of North Granby presented a large and beautifully restored wooden model of the famed battleship USS Missouri to the Granby American Legion Post 182 on March 24. Tokarz salvaged the battered model that had lain in the basement of a church in Hartford for many years. He then carefully restored it to its original condition and donated it for display at Legion Hall on North Granby Road.
About 10 years ago, Tokarz learned about the badly-damaged wooden model of an old battleship found during a clean out of the basement of the All Saints Orthodox Church in Hartford. The replica was in such poor condition and with so many parts and pieces missing that the church was going to throw it away. But one of the cleanup crew, Mark Ranstead (also from North Granby), knew that Tokarz was interested in all things nautical, so thought to ask if he was interested in adopting the model ship. And indeed, he was. The model sat for several more years in Tokarz’s basement until he retired and had the time to focus on its lengthy restoration.
Tokarz carefully researched the structure and fittings of the original battleship by referring to the authoritative book Mighty Mo: The U.S.S. Missouri – A Biography Of The Last Battleship for many specific details of the huge ship, as well as resources available on the internet. The top of the forward superstructure was entirely missing from the model, so he hand-crafted a proportionately sized replacement. He also reconstructed the radar antennas, nine gun turrets, thirty-nine guns, all of the deck rails, the two OS2U reconnaissance airplanes and many other fine details over the course of a year—over fifty pieces altogether. The 4½-foot model is built of pinewood and weighs about 25 pounds.
“I’d go down to my basement and put some classic rock and roll on and just get lost in the work,” Tokarz recounted to the members of Post 182. “It was a fun project to work on, and a thrill to complete!”
The hand-crafted pinewood model was originally built by the late Basil W. Matychak, (1922-2011) of Rocky Hill, who served in World War II with the Army Air Corps 386th Bombardment Group (Medium). Matychak was a flight engineer on a Martin B-26 Marauder bomber in the European theater of operations. His unit saw action in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Ardennes-Alsace. Per his obituary, after the war he worked for 30 years at Pratt & Whitney as Supervisor of Development, which included working with liquid nitrogen for the machine systems used in the space program. He was an active member of the Elks and the American Legion and a strong supporter and patron of the All Saints Orthodox Church in Hartford.
The USS Missouri (BB-63) was the last Iowa-class battleship commissioned during World War II. Famously, her quarterdeck was the site of the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945, ending the war. The USS Missouri numbered among the largest warships afloat, being 887 feet (270 meters) long and displacing 58,000 tons. Often called the greatest battleship ever built, the “Mighty Mo” had nine 16-inch guns which could fire 2,700-pound (1,200-kilogram) shells to a range of 23 miles (37 km). She also had twenty 5-inch guns, eighty 40mm anti-aircraft guns, and forty-nine 20mm auto-cannons. After serving a long and storied career—including service in the Korean War and Operation Desert Storm—the Missouri is now a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
“The ‘Mighty Mo’ is a ship steeped in honor and the best traditions of the U.S. Navy,” declared Jim Hall, past Post Commander and Navy veteran. “This model will reside here at Legion Hall in a place of honor befitting the memory of her service and of her crews.”
Vince Tokarz was presented with a certificate of appreciation for his generous gift. The restored Mighty Mo will stand in an honored place within a custom display case in its new home at American Legion Shannon-Shattuck Post 182 Legion Hall, 44 North Granby Road.
