The WWII Fletcher-class destroyer USS Kidd, preserved in her exact 1945 configuration on the Mississippi, lost 38 sailors to a kamikaze strike at Okinawa — and staff say some never left.
305 S River Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
General admission charged; see usskidd.com for current pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Naval destroyer with steep companionways, narrow passageways, and low overheads. Not wheelchair accessible beyond the main deck area.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1943 · Named for Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd — first flag officer killed in WWII, killed at Pearl Harbor · Kamikaze attack at Okinawa, April 11, 1945 — 38 sailors killed · Only Fletcher-class destroyer in the US preserved in 1945 wartime configuration · Operational in Pacific theater: Leyte Gulf, Luzon, Iwo Jima, Okinawa
USS Kidd (DD-661) was commissioned on April 23, 1943, at the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Kearny, New Jersey. The Fletcher-class destroyer was named for Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who was killed aboard his flagship USS Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Kidd was the first flag officer killed in action in World War II.
During her Pacific service, USS Kidd participated in operations at Leyte Gulf, Luzon, and Iwo Jima. On April 11, 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, a Japanese kamikaze aircraft struck the ship on the port side forward. The impact and resulting fires killed 38 sailors and wounded many others. The Kidd was seriously damaged but survived; she was repaired at Ulithi Atoll and returned to service before the war's end.
After the war, the Kidd served during the Korean War era before being decommissioned. The Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission acquired the destroyer in 1982, and she was towed to Baton Rouge and opened to the public in 1983. Unlike most museum ships, USS Kidd was restored to her 1945 configuration rather than her later refit appearance, making her the only Fletcher-class destroyer in the United States preserved in her World War II wartime appearance.
The museum grounds include an adjacent aviation park and a replica of the Higgins boat landing craft, which was designed and built in New Orleans. The ship is permanently moored on the east bank of the Mississippi.
Sources
Paranormal accounts at the USS Kidd center specifically on the areas of the ship closest to where the 38 men killed in the April 11, 1945 kamikaze strike lived and worked. According to accounts documented by regional paranormal sources, the most consistently reported phenomenon is the appearance of shadowy figures in the distinctive silhouette of 1940s U.S. Navy enlisted uniforms — dungarees, white undershirts, watch caps — moving through the crew berthing areas and passageways.
A more specific and unusual report describes what witnesses characterize as disembodied limbs — arms and legs visible for a moment before disappearing — passing through walls in the interior passageways near the crew compartments. This type of report is rare in the broader paranormal record and is noted specifically in Haunted US documentation of the Kidd.
Apparitions in crew berthing areas are described as appearing briefly near the narrow bunks and then vanishing. Witnesses who have reported them describe the figures as behaving as though unaware of being observed — moving with apparent purpose through the space rather than reacting to the presence of visitors.
The ship's status as a preserved wartime vessel — maintained at the moment of the 1945 damage rather than modernized — means visitors walk through the exact spaces where the 38 men lived, and in some cases died. Staff and volunteers who work regularly aboard the ship have made reports consistent with those of visitors, lending some corroborative weight to the accounts.
Walk through the USS Kidd in her preserved 1945 configuration — the only Fletcher-class destroyer in the country maintained in her wartime appearance rather than refitted for a later era. The tour covers the main deck, combat areas, crew bunks, and the compartments nearest the April 1945 kamikaze strike zone.
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