A state commission has approved a monument featuring a slab of black granite that will remind Iowans of the pivotal role played by the U.S. Navy's submarine force during World War II, as well as the large sacrifice in lives and vessels.This nationwide effort for the 52 monuments comes from the U.S. Submarine Veterans of WWII. The list of boats "assigned" to each state (California and New York have two each) can be found here. I'm not sure how many states have gotten as far as Iowa has, but here's a list that seems pretty complete of all submarine memorials listed by state. Check out your state to see what's there.
The back of the stone will bear the message that American submarines suffered the highest loss rate among the nation's armed forces during the war: "Of the 16,000 officers and enlisted men that served on submarines during the war, 3,506 (22 percent) were lost. Although only 1.6 percent of the U.S. Navy, the Submarine Force sank 30 percent of the Japanese Imperial Navy and 60 percent of the Japanese Merchant Marine, choking off the Japanese economy. This victory came at a heavy price."...
...The impetus for the project comes from a nationwide effort to have each state establish a memorial for one of the 52 submarines lost during World War II.
The submarine assigned to Iowa was the S-36. While the sub survived an enemy destroyer's attack, its crew had to abandon the vessel after it ran aground on a reef on Jan. 20, 1942.
Submarine Memorials For Every State
The Des Moines Register has a good article today on the successful efforts of submarine veterans in Iowa to get approval for an official monument to USS S-36, one of the 52 U.S. submarines lost during WWII, to be put up on the grounds of the Iowa Capitol. Excerpt:
