Dammit...I looked up that stat twice before posting...just to avoid being corrected. Now I go look again, and I find even more legitimate references to her being the most decorated, yet the Enterprise does indeed also make the claim, at 20.
I'm willing to accept that, perhaps, we both are sure we have the right info, but one of us is getting bogus data. I've no idea which one, though. The Internet never fails...
Reason number two still holds, tho!
Big Mo was a great ship, but a lot of her fame was tied to the Japanese surrender (no slight to her outstanding combat record). As I understand the story, tradition would have had the New Jersey given the honor, as she was (as best I know) the most decorated at the time, but President Truman was from Missouri and insisted on his home state namesake.
Anyone traveling through the NYC area should try and get a look-see at her. She's now a museum at the Philadelphia Shipyards on the Delaware River in Camden.
Anyway..I love the Iowa class BB. Gimme that, better muzzle and hit flashes, and a properly rendered sounset for her. And more good targets!