Bell Tolling Ceremony held for Lost Submariners
By MC2 Ronald Gutridge
COMSUBPAC Public Affairs

Release Date: 01/13/2010

(PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii)– A special bell tolling ceremony was held at the Submarine Memorial Chapel, Jan. 13 to perpetuate the memory of the submariners and the submarines that were lost in the month of January throughout World War II.

Submariners past and present gathered to honor and remember their costly sacrifices for our nation. Lieutenant Commander Timothy Moore, Naval Submarine Support Command Chaplain, spoke on behalf of all that were lost.

“We remember those gallant Sailors who made the supreme sacrifice while performing their duties with honor, integrity and courage,” said Moore. “And to pay tribute to the submarines that are on eternal patrol.”

The bell that hangs in the steeple of the Submarine Memorial Chapel, and tolled in remembrance, was donated from the crew of USS Argonaut (SS-166) right before her last patrol, one she never returned from. On Jan.10, 1943 the entire crew of 105 was lost as the submarine was sunk by Japanese destroyers. Each time the Argonaut’s bell tolls, it is in remembrance of all Sailors and lost crews at a time of war and peace.