In the early 1990s, a group of local veterans put their minds and talents together to spearhead an effort to establish a memorial to a man from Lycoming County who perished aboard a submarine during World War II. The USS Wahoo (SS-238) was lost with all hands in October 1943, after it fired three torpedoes at a Japanese freighter in the Sea of Japan. The third torpedo returned and hit the bow of the Wahoo.
Badly crippled and unable to dive in deep water, she attempted to escape. While transiting La Perouse on October 11th, 1943, she was spotted by a 6-inch coastal gun, which, upon firing two rounds, saw it submerge in shallow water near shore.
The enemy marshaled all available forces and destroyed the Wahoo with 63 depth charges and 40 bombs, according to enemy reports. Aboard was one man from Lycoming County, Robert B. Loque.
But Loque was not the only person from the county who made the supreme sacrifice while serving aboard a submarine during the war: David K. Sloan, Jr. perished during service on the USS Corvina (SS-226) and Edward J. Szendrey, on the USS Sea Wolf (SS-197).
While the Submarine Memorial was dedicated May 16, 1992 in their memory, it was just the start of things to come for what is now known as the Lycoming County Veterans Memorial Park.
On November 21, 1996, the City of Williamsport accepted the deed to the land on which the submarine memorial was erected and formed the Veterans Memorial Park Commission to oversee the facility. The land was donated by local businessman George Loque, brother of Robert Logue. Members of the Commission come from throughout Lycoming County and serve for five-year terms upon appointment by the Mayor. The Commission has been composed of members with service from each branch of the military and from various eras. Attempts are made to diversify this group with people of different genders, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
Since its creation, the Lycoming County Veterans Memorial Park has expanded to include a walk of memorials for people to reflect on the earlier wars in which Americans and residents from Lycoming County were engaged, dating to the Revolutionary War and the birth of our nation.
It is because of the generosity of your brick donations that the park has become such a beautiful landmark. We use funds from our brick donations to pay for continuous maintenance and improvements at the park.
