USS Bullhead (SS 332) - Seal Beach, CA - World War II Memorials / Monuments on Waymarking.com

The advancement of the submarine is a long and proud chapter in the history of the U.S. Navy. Through the efforts of the California Center for Military History and U.S. Submarine Veterans, a large memorial recognizes the name and crew of each submarine lost in World War II. The "World War II National Submarine Memorial - West" is located just outside the gate to the Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach. Bronze plaques identify the officers and men that gave their lives during the war. The plaques surround a central display consisting of a torpedo, flag, and time capsule and a grass field. Groundbreaking for the memorial took place on January 13, 1977.

(The following is from the Naval Historical Center's Web site.)

USS Bullhead, a 1526-ton Balao class submarine, was built at Groton, Connecticut. Commissioned in December 1944, she went to the Pacific shortly thereafter and left Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for her first war patrol in March 1945. It took her into the South China Sea, where she twice used her deck gun to shell an enemy-held island, rescued three U.S. Army bomber aircrewmen and had the unenviable experience of being attacked by another U.S. bomber, whose bombs fortunately missed their target. During this patrol Bullhead also carried Martin Sheridan, the only Second World War occasion when a War Correspondent accompanied a U.S. submarine on a combat mission.

Operating out of Freemantle, Australia, after April 1945, Bullhead's second war patrol, in the Gulf of Siam and the South China Sea, produced attacks on several small Japanese vessels. Beginning her third patrol at the end of July, she headed for the Java Sea and, on 6 August, reported her arrival on station. She was not heard from again and was presumed sunk, with her entire complement of 84 officers and men. It is possible that Bullhead was the victim of a Japanese air attack off Bali on 6 August 1945. She was the last U.S. submarine lost during World War II.

Property Permission: Public Access instructions: Park in the lot just off the main entrance to the Naval Weapons Station Access times: From: 12:00 AM To: 11:59 PM Website for Waymark: [Web Link] Location of waymark: 800 Seal Beach Boulevard Seal Beach, CA USA 90740 Commemoration: USS Bullhead Date of Dedication: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/18/2010 senoritafish visited it