Indiana University dedicating USS Indiana prow ahead of Navy game

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University is dedicating the prow of the USS Indiana ahead before Saturday’s football game against Navy.

IU president Michael McRobbie and other state and national leaders plan to remember the ship and its crew during Saturday afternoon ceremonies. The prow — or front of the ship — is installed at the west entrance of IU’s Memorial Stadium.

The 35,000-ton battleship was commissioned in 1942 and served in the Pacific during World War II. A collector saved the prow from being scrapped and the university acquired it earlier this year.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus plans to attend Saturday’s ceremony. He said the ceremony will honor all Indiana residents who fought in the war.