Freedom Park serves as a United States Naval Museum on the Missouri River and is home to the USS Marlin SST-2 Submarine and the USS Hazard AM-240 Minesweeper, Anchor & Propeller Garden, Shipboard Rocket Launchers and a Douglas A-4D Skyhawk Jet Fighter and other aircraft.
Admission is free. There is no water available in the park. There is a handicapped accessible port-a-potty in the park. Self-guided tours are available most Saturdays from 10 am to 3pm, May through October.
FREEDOM PARK
The USS Hazard (AM-240) was launched on 1 October 1944 by the Winslow Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Corporation of Windslow, WA. The Hazard was fitted for both wire and acoustic sweeping and could double as an anti-submarine warfare platform. The Admirable-class minesweepers were also used for patrol and escort duties during WWII.
The USS Hazard first served as an escort from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor, then running convoys to Eniwetok and Ulithi. In March 1945, the ship was sent to Okinawa to perform anti-submarine patrols before sweeping the waters off Kerama Retto. The ship’s slogan was “No Sweep, No Invasion.”
To run, or take the risk of; to venture upon; dangerous, risky.
Hazard
The USS Hazard was decommissioned in 1946 and struck from Navy records in 1971. Hazard was then purchased in 1971 by a group of Omaha businessmen and placed on display in Freedom Park. It is the only Admirable-class minesweeper left in the United States.
The USS Hazard received three battle stars for World War II service.