In 1941, as war with Japan looked likely, the Oregon was redesignated IX-22 in February and after Pearl Harbor, it was decided that the best thing for the ship would be to be broken up for scrap. She was struck from the Naval Registry on 2 November 1942 and was sold to ship breakers on 7 December.
In March 1943, she was towed to Kalama, Washington to be broken up, but after the work was begun, the Navy decided that the Oregon could be of use in the planned invasion of Guam scheduled for mid-1944, either as a storage hulk or a breakwater.
The breakers were ordered to stop after clearing the superstructure and internal equipment was removed. The Oregon was then loaded with ammunition and towed to Guam as part of the invasion fleet.
After capture of that island, the Oregon remained through the end of the war in 1945 and for several more years after that. On the night of 14-15 November 1948, the ship broke free of her moorings during a typhoon and drifted away. After an extensive search, aircraft located the ship some 580 miles southeast of Guam.
It was then towed back to Guam and remained there until 1956 and she was sold for scrap and broken up in Japan.
Several parts of the ship remain in Portland. Her foremast was placed at Tom McCall Waterfront Park and her ship's wheel is at the Oregon Historical Society. Both of her funnels also remain but are not on public display.
--Cooter
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