By
Steve Mayo
The Daily News
Published November 09,
1998 12:00 AM CST
GALVESTON -- A World War II memorial to
more than 3,600 submariners killed in
battle is crumbling. Neal Stevens and the
Cavalla Task Force are sending out an SOS
to save the USS Cavalla. The 55-year-old
World War II submarine on display at
Seawolf Park needs attention. For
starters, the concrete deck has to be
removed to replace rusted support beams
underneath, said Stevens, a USS Cavalla
historian.
That's going to run between $100,000
to $150,000, Stevens said.
"That won't get everything done
but we can do a solid repair job,"
he said.
Stevens said that through a USS
Cavalla Web site, the group has raised
about $5,000 to help pay for those
repairs.
Stevens, along with parks board
Chairman Raymond Lewis and the
submarine's former executive officer,
Capt. Zeb Alford, will be part of a rally
Tuesday to raise the public's awareness
of the submarine.
Seawolf Park Manager Joe Romero said
he remembers school field trips to the
submarine when he was a kid.
He said attendance has fallen off over
years, though.
"We used have buses lined up in
the parking lot," Romero said.
"Now we have something like six
school buses a year."
The objective is to remind people the
submarine is here, Stevens said.
The USS Cavalla, which was installed
at Seawolf Park in 1971, played a vital
role in thwarting a secret mission aimed
at stopping U.S. troops from landing on
the Marianas Islands.
It also sank a Japanese aircraft
carrier that was used in the attack at
Pearl Harbor, Stevens said.
Because of projected operating losses,
park board officials have been giving
thought to closing the submarine, at
least temporarily.
The submarine serves as a monument to
the men killed in World War II, Stevens
said. "If we lost it, that would be
the first time I've ever heard of losing
a memorial because of a lack of American
interests."
That also would leave one submarine
exhibit in the state, a two-man Japanese
submarine at Admiral Nimitz Museum in
Fredericksburg, he said.
Cavalla rally
- What: A rally is scheduled
to raise awareness of the USS
Cavalla submarine. The World War
II memorial is in need of at
least $100,000 structural repair.
USS Cavalla historian Neal
Stevens said that if the USS
Cavalla is lost, it would be the
first time he's heard of a war
memorial being removed because of
a lack of interest. Losing the
USS Cavalla also would leave one
other submarine exhibit in the
state, a two-man Japanese
submarine at the Admiral Nimitz
Museum in Fredericksburg.
- When: 10 a.m. Tuesday.
- Where: Seawolf Park.
- To help: Contact the USS
Cavalla Web site:
www.deepdomain.olm.net/
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