A 15-foot torpedo rests in the center of the memorial.
Most automobile drivers travelling along Seal Beach Boulevard heading to their job, school or play, probably never notice the small plot of grass and trees tucked next to the Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach. This area, which contains dozens of bronze plagues and an actual torpedo, is the U.S. Submarine Veterans W.W. II National Memorial West.
Surviving members of the U.S. Navy’s submarine service founded an organization in 1955. Then on January 13, 1977 they began construction of a memorial to honor their shipmates who died while serving their country.
Reading through the embossed bronze letters on the plagues, I found four Cunninghams who lost their lives aboard submarines: the U.S.S. Herring, the U.S.S. Trout, the U.S.S. Scorpion, and the U.S.S. Grenadier. Just imagining what it must have been like being aboard a battered and sinking submarine during its last minutes, sends a shiver down my spine and a grimace to my face. So many brave men and women have sacrificed so much for others. But, why must world leaders, and corporate bosses, still resort to war. Are we still so ignorant that we can’t find peaceful solutions when disagreements arise?
One plaque states: “U.S. Navy submarines paid heavily for their success in World War II. A total of 374 officers and 3,131 men are on board these 52 U.S. submarines still on ‘patrol.’”
One of the four plagues containing a Cunningham.
The deadly head of the torpedo.
A cluster of eight propellers on the tail of the torpedo.
Words punched into the top plate
of the torpedo.
Image of submarines still on "patrol."
The memorial in Seal Beach, Calif.
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