World War II Submarine Memorial – West

Every school kid should take a «Field Trip» to this memorial and listen to a short presentation by a Submariner.

Just outside the main gates of the Naval Weapons station in Seal Beach, CA, the National Memorial West honors submarine crew members who died when subs were lost. Laid out in a semi circle are stone markers listing their names on bronze plaques. 52 submarines were lost in World War ll.
On this day, April 10, a somber anniversary, 50 years since the USS Thresher, a nuclear-​powered submarine, sank off the coast of Cape Cod, MA in 1963 killing all 129 people aboard.
The Thresher sailed 220 miles off Cape Cod to start deep diving test. Accompanied by the support ship USS Skylark. Once there, Thresher starts its descent with a target of 1,000 feet, 30 minutes later, they reach 1,000 feet without incident. 45 minutes later, a pipe apparently ruptures, flooding the engine room and causes electrical and power failures. The sub grows heavier from the flooding and sinks. The Skylark detects a high-​energy, low-​frequency noise with characteristics of an implosion. The sonar registers the sound of Thresher breaking apart. All 129 officers, crewmen and civilian technicians were presumed dead.
On April 11, the Navy officially declared the sub lost.
On April 12, president John Kennedy issued executive order 11 104 paying tribute to the crew of Thresher by flying flags at half-​staff.
The only other US nuclear sub to sink was the USS Scorpion in 1968, 99 killed. Reason for sinking is unknown. Nov. 2012, the US submarine veterans, an organization of 13,800 members (all former submariners) asked the US Navy to reopen the investigation of the sinking of the USS Scorpion.
As one former submariner said «We refer these submarines as being on eternal patrol».

What makes someone want to volunteer to step into a metal can and live underwater for weeks on end? Who are these sailors that dedicate their lives to defending our nation from deep below cold dark waters unseen by all save those with deadly intent and a good sonar?
Except for the brashly irrational, daredevils and foolishly inane, these people are the very same brave people who jump from airplanes or sit atop a huge jet engine and face combat in service of their country. Thank God we have such people.
On missions usually classified as Secret or Top Secret, the submariners are the ones that do battle using stealth to keep from being seen and hunted by the enemy. We usually never know what they’re doing until something catastrophic occurs and, sadly, these occurrences don’t come cheaply. This memorial contains the plaques of 45 submarines lost with «all hands».
52 submarines and over 3000 service members are remembered here under a tattered flag and the warm blue skies they’ll never see again.
It also includes a memorial to the USS Thresher and USS Scorpion lost during the Cold War (
).
I was proud to stop and pay tribute to these heroic people.