June 23, 1919

The USS Arkansas (M-7), also known as the USS Ozark (BM-7), one of four monitor-class naval vessels built for the U.S. Navy in the late 1800s, returned to Hampton Roads Harbor in Chesapeake Bay and patrolled coastal waters near Key West, Central America, and the Panama Canal before being decommissioned in August. This class of vessel was designed for surface warship use but was primarily relegated to support operations because the ships were obsolete by the time they were finished. The Arkansas was engaged in operations to blockade and seize the Port of Veracruz during the American occupation of Mexico. It had been renamed the Ozark in 1909 and became a submarine tender in 1913.