By MIKE RUSSO
The torpedo, a Mark XIV, was dedicated at a July 9 ceremony, where a bell was tolled for each of the 52 U.S. submarines sunk during the war. The Mark XIV takes its place alongside other war monuments in the park's Veterans Plaza, and will memorialize the 5,305 sailors who lost their lives during the war.
"This Mark XIV torpedo is one of the stones of David's slingshot that we used to bring down Japan," said Emil Schoonejans, president of the Runner Chapter Submarine Veterans of World War II. The torpedo was previously housed in Virginia and Levittown until Schoonejans and group vice president Milton Seltzer approached Nassau County Parks commissioner Jose Lopez just before Memorial Day, interested in finding the Mark XIV a permanent home.
"This has exceeded our expectations," Lopez said. "I am truly humbled by this dedication."
The Mark XIV was the weapon of choice of the Silent Service-U.S. Navy submarines that made up only 1.5 percent of the Navy but sank more than half of all Japanese ships sunk during the war, according to veterans. The Silent Service gets its name from the submarine's unique ability to move quietly through the water and launch sneak attacks. The 20-foot, 3,000-pound torpedoes served as bunkmates to sailors, who slept above or alongside some of the most lethal weapons in American naval history.
The U.S. Navy considered the Mark XIV torpedo obsolete in the early 1960s, according to Lou Roberts of the U.S. Submarine Veterans Inc. But it was back in U.S. submarines by 1969-the height of the Cold War.
Eisenhower Park's Veterans Plaza is a perfect location for people to get a true vision of the contribution made by submariners during the war, said Ed Allman, director of county Veteran Services.
"It makes passersby read the two stones in front of the torpedo, even if they don't know anything about the submarines," Allman said.
When a submarine goes down, Seltzer said, those soldiers are forever lost at the bottom of the ocean. Just as submarine veterans consider the ground around a downed submarine sacred, the area surrounding the monument should receive the same courtesy, he said.
"When visitors come here, we ask that they tread softly," Seltzer said. "You are walking on hallowed ground.
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
