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Stopping at a Submarine Memorial
by Mike Hemming
June 2002
SubVetsWWII - Still on Patrol - Plaque image
STILL ON PATROL
[ CLICK FOR FULL IMAGE ]
This is an image of one of the many SubVetsWWII "Still on Patrol" plaques.   The plaques were provided by the Submarine Veterans following World War Two and can be found mounted on, or near, various Submarine Memorial sites throught the nation.

This particular plaque is mounted in the club house of SubVets Groton at 40 School Street in Groton Connecticut.

The image was provided by John Wynn, a member of USSVI Lockwood Internet Base and USSVI Groton Base.

The WWII STILL ON PATROL plaques:
Bits and pieces of images and discussions about them

SubVets Of WWII states' assignments of the LOST 52 BOATS memorials of World-War II
THE LIST


SUBMARINE PIANO

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Washington Navy Yard
(Jun. 11, 2003) -- This Steinway piano spent 22 years (1961-1983) aboard the ballistic missile submarine USS Thomas A. Edison (SSBN 610), the only full size piano ever installed aboard a submarine conducting nuclear deterrent patrols. Part of the artifact collection of the Naval Historical Center on the Washington Navy Yard, its being temporarily loaned back to Steinway in return for a complete restoration. It is then scheduled to go on display this summer at the Steinway Company Museum in New York in an exhibit celebrating the 150 years of the famous piano company. Photo courtesy of Steinway Piano Company.  Source
 
Posting date:  20 February 2004
From:  The USSVI Webmaster

Website links to U.S. Submarine memorial artifact information normally directs us to stories about such preserved items as submarine sails, fins, periscopes, ship's bells and the like. This expanding body of knowledge makes up our collective memorial "keepsakes" - and that is always "a work in progress".

The following links, text and images present a different kind of "keepsake". Here is the unique story about the history and current status of a piano that was onboard the USS THOMAS A. EDISON SSBN-610 during her entire commissioned service as a cold war boomer.

Is it the story of a memorial or only an interesting story?

Your call.

    Follow the links for much more of the SUBMARINE PIANO story:
NOTE: As part of the effort to preserve what is known about our submarines this information has been obtained from various sources on the internet. Full credit for each is provided throughout.      Unlike books in a library, the sources on the net are frequenly scintillescent.
You can look up that word.
SUBMARINE MEMORIALS & CEREMONIES
Wherever you are, if there is a Submarine Memorial, Memorial Service, Boat Tolling or other Ceremony, where you are or plan to be, it is likely that it will be listed here.
ENTER
The U.S. Navy Memorial & Naval Heritage Center
[ A part of the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Washington DC ]
http://www.lonesailor.org/exhibits.php
Exhibit:
A Century of the Silent Service:
Heroes of the Submarine Force

"In addition to the images and words that describe our submariners' contributions, this exhibit pays tribute to those who made the supreme sacrifice.
-
The panel Submariners on Eternal Patrol lists the names of all of our Sailors lost in submarines, both in peace and in war. ***
-
The text of the names of those who were lost as an entire crew is formed in the shape of their type of submarine, giving the viewer the impact of the Submarine Force's sacrifice over the past 100 years."

*** Webmaster note --- The names in the exhibit were copied from Jim Christley's listing
on SUBNET. A later and more complete listing can be found at his website:
Old Sub's Place by Jim Christley EMCS(SS) USN(Ret)

Note: Another exhibit at the center consists of the Chief Petty Officers Bell with plaque which reads, in part: "At the centennial of the rate of Chief Petty Officer in 1993, a special bell was cast to mark this milestone anniversary. On display in the Naval Heritage Center, the privilege of ringing this bell belongs to all Chief Petty Officers, past and present."

Museum
CLICK for AIMM
The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum opened its doors to the public on May 15th, 2005. Centered around the submarine USS Razorback (SS 394) and soon to feature the historic tug USS Hoga (YT 146), AIMM is more than just a military museum. They have a research library, a theather, and a large museum area.

They will also feature the "Beacon of Peace and Hope" on the grounds and will regularly feature displays and programs on the impact of maritime trade, the inland waterways system, the Arkansas River, and even Arkasas aquaculture.

Museum
St. Marys Submarine Museum
Go to Memorial Sites Listed by State - Georgia
And scroll down 
From the St, Marys Museum section you will find links
to information about the late Mr. Ben Bastura. 
Ben Bastura was the former owner/curator of the nation's
largest privately held U.S.Submarine Library & Museum.
His entire collection was located in Middletown, CT.
It is now relocated to the St. Marys Submarine Museum.
If you don't know about the late Mister Ben Bastura
and his lifetime collection - it's time that you learned.

PENANG, MALAYSIA
CLICK TO ENTER
A classroom as a memorial
for the captured WWII crew members of the
USS GRENADIER SS-210

Sources:
A Guide to U.S. Navy Museums in the United States

The U.S. Navy operates twelve museums located throughout the United States and the historic ship USS Constitution in Boston, Massachusetts. These activities provide visitors and researchers an opportunity to become familiar with the rich and varied history of the U.S. Navy, its customs and traditions, and the evolution of its multifaceted missions. Exhibits, artifacts, and programs sponsored by these museums chronicle specific aspects of U.S. naval history from the American Revolution to the present.

USN MUSEUMS via USN Historical Website
SUBMARINE MUSEUMS - Linked from CODE N77
The above are Official US Navy sites
Special Entry
From The Collection of Martin Schaffer
Submarine Memorials And Famous Submarine Places Around The World
Here is a website done by a WWII US Submariner, the late Martin Schaffer. You will enter his site in Australia at the Memorial to the lost 52 WWII US Submarines. Then he takes you to many places around the globe that have submarine relics and memorials to other nations. Finally a stop at the house of John Holland in Ireland. A very impressive collection. Rich in imagery.        [ Martin Schaffer - rest your oar ]
Special Entry
The Volunteers of Spritz's Navy

WebMaster Note:
This entry in the USSVI memorial website is a bit unique. It's not about a topedo on a rock. Nor is it a plaque, or a buiding named for a submariner. Nor is it the usual tribute that we associate with a memorial to some aspect of our submarine force. 

It is about a man. He was no Charles Lockwood or Mush Morton. He never rose to that level. And certainly by no strech of the imagination would he ever be included in that long line of famous submariners whose names we readily recognize.

He was however a rather controversial man if you talk to WWII submariners who went through the New London Submarine School during WWII. Many will say they hated him. The majority usually say his training before they were assigned to their first boat to go in harm's way "did them some good" .

Well, I'll let this essay speak for itself. I think in a way it is a kind of a memorial. It's certainly something worth preserving, Don't you agree?
So without further introduction here is
Chief Torpedoman Charles Spritz and his all volunteer Navy

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Special Entry
WWII Submarine Memorial
Monument Hill War Memorial Park
Fremantle, Western Australia

Submarine Memorial Freemantle AU
Image above was contributed by Peter O'Donohue
Former Royal Australian Navy Submariner


Another view from another source.
Original is HERE
Mr. Victor Humphries , a WW2 Royal Navy Veteran (battleships), generously contributed A SCANNED NEWS ARTICLE about the dedication of the memorial.
(Image size is 78kb)

From the Australian Submarine Heritage Homepage 
American, British and Dutch Submarines Based at Fremantle 1942 to 1945

From the Royal Navy Submarine Homepage
American, British and Dutch Submarines Based at Fremantle 1942 to 1945

Source:
Historic Naval Ships Association aka HNSA
The purpose of the Historic Naval Ships Association is to facilitate the exchange of information and provide mutual support among those who are working hard to maintain their aging vessels physically and financially. The ships of HNSA are located not only in the nation's coastal seaports, but on lakes and rivers far from the sea, in the midst of the United States, as well as in Canada, western Europe and Australia
Alphabetical Ship Listing of HNSA
Source:
Maritime Park Association
The Association supports San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and independently operates the World War II submarine museum and memorial USS Pampanito. The Association originally acquired USS Pampanito in 1976, undertook her restoration, and opened the vessel to the public in 1982. Since then, the Association has continued its restoration and interpretation work, with the goal of returning USS Pampanito to a condition representing a specific point in time-late summer 1945.
Hours and directions

Source:
Myron Howard's WWII Submarine Memorial Website

Source:
CLICK - Smith's Index of Maritime Museum Websites

Source:
DUDLEY KNOX LIBRARY-NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
Monterey, California


Source:
Air University Library--Improving Air Force Education
Yes, they have submarine books
Located at Maxwell AFB, Alabama
Contains a searchable on-line database of submarine books.


Source:
The Navy Department Library
Washington Navy Yard
Southeast Washington, D.C.
Open to the public, Mon-Friday, 9-4.
No reference assistance is available on Wednesday. Its collections comprising 150,000 volumes are the nation's most highly concentrated and accessible collection of literature on the United States Navy.

There are two entrances to the Washington Navy Yard: the main gate is at M and 9th Streets SE; a second entrance is on 11th Street SE (closed on weekends). Both are accessible from Route 295 and the 11th Street Bridge.

Listing of all Defense Department Libraries


Mystery Submarine
CSS Pioneer?
Confederate Submersible
George Francois Mugnier
c. 1890

Though the true identity of this vessel remains a mystery, it was once believed to be the Pioneer, a prototype for the Confederate submarine Hunley, which sank a Federal warship in 1864. The true Pioneer was built in New Orleans by two New Orleans machinists, James R. McClintock and Baxter Watson, and a wealthy lawyer, Horace L. Hunley. 

Never used in active duty against the Federal fleet, it was sunk in Lake Pontchartrain north of New Orleans by local residents in 1862 so that it could not be used by Federal troops who had captured the city. The vessel in this photograph, measuring twenty feet long, three feet wide, and six feet deep, was discovered in the lake in 1878 and brought ashore and forgotten for many years until it was ultimately put on display in front of the Louisiana State Museum's Presbytere in 1957, where it remains today.

More: Copied article from Charleston Post & Courier 15 July 2001
Source:http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab10.htm
via The Louisiana State Museum
Louisiana State Museum, P.O. Box 2448, New Orleans, LA 70176, Ph 1-504-568-6968

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