| Beaverton Memorial Honors Submariners of World War II |
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| USS Albacore SS 218 sank off Japan after hitting a mine in 1944 |
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USS Albacore Memorial in Beaverton
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Several veterans' groups held a public ceremony on Veterans Day to dedicate a memorial to a World War II submarine and its crew. The new monument is located in Beaverton's Memorial Park at Southwest Seventh Avenue and Watson Street.
The monument honors the U.S.S. Albacore, USS 218, and its crew of 85 men, lost on Nov. 7, 1944, when the submarine hit a mine while submerged off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan.
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Bruce Powers (L) and Russell Fabre at memorial dedication.
(click to enlarge)
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The United States Submarine Veterans of World War II, United States Submarine Veterans Inc., and Beaverton American Legion Post 124 conducted the ceremony as part of an effort to place 52 World War II submarine memorials in all 50 states, with California and New York getting two each. The submarine force suffered the loss of 52 out of 288 submarines and over 3,500 men. The U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II assigned USS Albacore (SS-218) to the State of Oregon.
Seaman First Class Patrick McKenna was on the ship when it sank, and he was a graduate of Boys Town High School in Boys Town, Nebraska. As former graduates of Boys Town High, WorkSource Tualatin Manager Bruce Powers and Russell Fabre were asked to attend in honor of Patrick McKenna. Patrick McKenna was an orphan and the Boys Town High School was the only family he had.
"It was a very moving experience," Powers said. "During the ceremony at a nearby church, the names of all 52 lost submarines were read."
The USS Albacore left Pearl Harbor on October 24, 1944, topped off with fuel at Midway on October 28, and departed there for her eleventh patrol the same day, never to be heard from again. Her area was northeast of Honshu and south of Hokkaido, and because of the danger of mines, she was ordered to stay outside of waters less than 100 fathoms deep. She was to depart her area at sunset on December 5, 1944, and was expected at Midway about December 12th. When she had not been seen or heard from by December 21st despite the sharpest of lookouts for her, she was reported as presumed lost. Enemy information available now indicates that the sub perished by hitting a mine. The explosion occurred on November 7, 1944, while the vessel was submerged, and was witnessed by an enemy patrol craft. The craft reports having seen much heavy oil and bubbles, cork, bedding and various provisions after the explosion.
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