U.S. Navy Submarine Memorial War memorial

Do you know why this monument sits here, right along the Chicago River? You might think its location is peculiar, but it celebrates a special historical chapter in the war effort on the Great Lakes. Before the Second World War, there were only three shipyards in the United States that were building submarines, one of them being Electric Boat Company (EB) in Groton. In 1940, the Navy knew that submarine construction needed to be scaled up to meet the growing threat of the war, so more shipyards were brought in on the effort. Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company (MSC), located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin got a contract, even though they had never built a submarine before. The challenge for MSC, and for the Navy, was getting the subs from the freshwater of Lake Michigan to the saltwater of the Pacific Ocean. A solution was to create a pathway for the submarines to travel to the Gulf of Mexico. And the Navy, with the help of crews and volunteers, made it work. This path was quite a journey, using the Illinois Waterway, going through Chicago, Joliet, Grafton, Illinois, and then down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, where the subs could finally sail to the Pacific Ocean.
The U.S. Navy Submarine Memorial is a reminder of the 28 submarines that started their journey to serve their country right here on the Chicago River. Standing before you today, a replica of a World War II submarine bulkhead reflects the submarines’ journey to fight for the freedom of the nation. The memorial is a place to remember and honor the sacrifices of those who served on those early submarines. The journey of these submarines made its mark not only on the Navy, but on the heartland of America by traversing waterways through several of the states in the region.