The
California Military Museum
The
California Military MuseumUnited States Submarine Veterans Incorporated
POC: Mark J. Denger
Phone: (818)240-1775; Email: Permit1@Flash.net
Press Release
Memorial Signs on Pacific Coast Highway
SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA The State of California has announced plans to honor our submarine veterans of World War II by erecting two signs which will read "U.S. Submarine Veterans WWII Memorial Highway" on Pacific Coast Highway (State Route One).
As the year 2000 marks the 100th Anniversary of the U.S. Submarine Force, on January 6, 2000, Assemblymember Scott Baugh introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 98 which designates a portion of Pacific Coast Hwy (Long Beach to Huntington Beach) as the U.S. SUBMARINE VETERANS WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL HIGHWAY, which will serve to remind us all of the sacrifices that have been made by the members of the Submarine Service and stands as an eternal symbol that the State of California honors and remembers its veterans.
Few people outside the submarine community fully realize the full measure of honor and duty given by our submariners during that war. By the war's end, U.S. submarines were credited with the sinking of one third of all Japanese warships and one half of Japan's merchant fleet. This achievement did not come without a price. While comprising less than two percent of the Navy's personnel, the Submarine Service suffered the highest percentage of casualties of that war. Fifty-two submarines were lost –one out of every five –and more than 3,500 men went down with their ships. Despite these losses, the submariner's courage in the face of death was instrumental in ensuring an Allied victory.
Just outside the main gate of the U.S. Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach, California, which borders Pacific Coast Hwy, is the site of the WORLD WAR II NATIONAL SUBMARINE MEMORIAL-WEST. Maintained by the Los Angeles Area Chapter of U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II and Los Angeles-Pasadena Base of United States Submarine Veterans Incorporated, this memorial site honors the memory of the 375 officers and 3,131 enlisted men who paid the ultimate price in the defense of their country. Their names join the 52 submarines lost during World War II who would have their epitaph written in the words "overdue and presumed lost."
This public display and the designation of Pacific Coast Highway as the U.S. Submarine Veterans WWII Memorial Highway memorializes the achievements of our veterans of Submarine Service and will remind future generations of the sacrifices that their grandparents and great grandparents made during WWII.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The National Submarine Memorial - West is located near the main entrance to the U.S. NAVAL WEAPONS STATION (NAVWEPSTA), Seal Beach, off Seal Beach Boulevard.
Supp. Rev.: 15
March 2000