Submarine vets honor past, future veterans
GALVESTON — Submarine
veterans on Monday paid tribute to Americans who have died in battle and the
current generation of fighting men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Cavalla Historical Foundation during the Memorial Day observance at
Seawolf Park also dedicated Memorial Plaza, part of a slew of improvements
made at the no-longer deteriorating naval display.
The plaza is a raised area between the USS Cavalla, the World War II-era
submarine, and the USS Stewart, a destroyer escort on display at the park.
The names of the 52 World War II submarines “still on patrol” are listed
around the points of the compass.
The keynote speaker was Navy Vice Adm. John Butler, executive officer of the
submarine program.
Butler, who grew up in Texas City, said the submarines of today had resumed
the missions of surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance and special
operations that boats of the Cavalla’s era shared. During the Cold War, U.S.
submarines’ primary mission was to hunt other submarines, he said.
Given the vintage of the naval display and the World War II Memorial dedicated
two days earlier in Washington, Monday’s ceremony focused on the fight with
Japan, Germany and Italy that ended nearly 60 years ago.
The war took the lives of 37.2 million people, including 298,000 Americans.
“They answered the call to war to preserve liberty, justice, equality and the
right to live without the fear of tyranny,” said Army Lt. Col. Dave Jackson.
Thoughts also were on the American servicemen and women now on the
battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“My hope is that you sometime today ... take a few minutes of time to pause,
think of those troops and say a prayer for their safe return,” Marine Staff
Sgt. Diane Durden said.