Edit: This article originally stated Mr. Barwick’s last name as Warwick. We sincerely apologize for the error.
10:30am | A very special service will take place on Monday, this Memorial Day, to commemorate fallen submarines and their crews that served America during times of war. The 33rd annual Tolling Of The Boats will be held at the World War II National Submarine Memorial-West in Seal Beach.
During the Tolling Of The Boats, Navy veterans will remember those lost by reading the names of the fallen submarines and their crews, as a bell rings for each one. The wives of submarine veterans will toss flowers into a pond.
Navy veteran and Long Beach resident Ed Barwick is organizing the event.
“It’s very meaningful to me,” said Barwick, a graduate of Poly High and CSULB. “These people, the conditions they served under with tight quarters and such, these people were heroes. Frankly, that’s why I went into the submarine service.”
Speakers at the event will include former Long Beach mayor Eunice Sato and current Congressmember Dana Rohrabacher.
Some fifty-two submarines were lost during WWII – roughly 20% of the Naval sub fleet – and two more were lost during the Cold War in the 1960s. (In contrast, Barwick notes that 55% of the Japanese sub fleet was lost.)
The memorial site is at 800 Seal Beach Blvd. All are welcome and there is no admission charge, seating will be provided. The event will begin at 11:00am.