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The USSVI, Nautilus Base, Ocala, Florida and its members, have completed a very ambitious project; a submarine memorial section within the Ocala - Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in coordination with the Ocala Historical Society. The Park is located in the center of Ocala at the junction of 25th Street and Purple Heart Blvd. One block from the County Complex and a short drive from the famous Silver Springs Preserve; it is expected to become the largest Veterans Park in the State of Florida. There will be an amphitheater, stage, court of flags, museum, and a library. Highlights are the Medal of Honor Plaza and the Walk Of History. In all, more than nine acres will be a lasting educational center for the future. Management and upkeep will be provided by Marion County and the City of Ocala.
Nautilus Base has funded a place of honor within the park to record the accomplishment of submarines and their place in the history of our country. The location is ten yards from the Medal of Honor Plaza, Site East Two in the Walk of History. It is just after the USS Constitution at East One Site.
A podium plaque (right picture) and a plaque (left picture) within a stand of individual bricks with the name of each submarine lost, the date and number of men who perished is next to the podium. The granite plaque mounted on the podium is headed by Submarine Dolphins and reads:
"DEDICATED TO THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED
AND ARE SERVING THEIR COUNTRY IN THE
UNITED STATES SUBMARINE SERVICE. EST. 1900AD"
SPONSORED BY : U.S. SUBMARINE VETERANS, NAUTILUS BASE, OCALA.
The podium was in place for Veterans Day 1998 and the individual boat bricks on Jan. 12 1999.
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