The USS Texas (B – 35) is currently docked near the San Jacinto Monument in the Houston Ship channel as a floating museum. Over a century ago, the New York-class battleship had a different purpose. Soon after her commissioning in 1914, the USS Texas saw action for the first time in World War I making numerous sorties in the North Sea. When the United States formally entered World War II in 1941, the USS Texas escorted war convoys across the Atlantic and later shelled Axis-held beaches for the North African campaign and the Normandy Landings on D-Day. The USS Texas was then transferred to the Pacific theater during World War II to help provide support during the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She spent several days pounding the Japanese defenses in preparation for the landings. Kamikaze raids were sent to harass the bombardment group, but the USS Texas escaped damage during those attacks. Once forces landed, the USS Texas provided naval gunfire support. Her final mission of World War II was to bring American troops home, which was completed in February 1946.