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For his 99th birthday, World War II veteran Bernard “Ben” Teevan asked for just one gift—a chance to return to the USS Alabama, the battleship he called home nearly 80 years ago.
The Missouri native, who served aboard the ship from 1944 to 1946, made the journey back to Mobile, where he was greeted with memories, emotions, and a flood of stories from his days as a young sailor.
Memories of Service Come Flooding Back
Walking the decks of the USS Alabama, Ben Teevan couldn’t help but be swept back to the days when he served during some of the most intense moments of the war.
“I’ll never forget June 1944,” he recalled. “We were out in the seas, and we had three typhoons—one day and one night of craziness.”
That experience, along with countless others aboard the ship, helped shape his life and left an indelible mark on his memory.
Teevan spoke with reverence about his time on the USS Alabama, saying he felt “very fortunate” to have been assigned to the battleship.