The 70th anniversary of the commissioning of the Battleship USS Alabama will be celebrated Thursday at 11 a.m., the Mobile Press-Register reported.

The ceremony, which is open to the public, takes place on about the same day and the same hour as when the battleship entered the Navy for service 70 years ago, according to Bill Tunnell, the executive director of Battleship Memorial Park and an Andalusia native.

Alabama residents who can provide an Alabama ID will be able to tour the battleship free of charge all day Thursday.

“The event is about remembering what was going on at that time, and we may touch on what the battleship means to the Mobile community since its retirement in Mobile,” he said.

For this special event, officials are asking the public to contribute $100 in honor or in remembrance of someone who is now serving or has served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Money raised by the campaign will fund a new audio tour for Battleship Memorial Park and will also include a complete refurbishment of the Uptake Theater on Main Deck.