This is the message on the front of the new S-36 Submarine Memorial. It is located on the Iowa Capitol Grounds in Des Moines, Iowa next to the Military Order of the Purple Heart Memorial.

The memorial is a joint project of the two Iowa bases of USSVI, Iowa and Placoderm, with input from the Iowa Chapter of World War II Sub Vets.

On June 23, 2007, approximately 300 guests were called to attention by a Klaxon to begin the ceremony. Among approximately 60 submarine veterans attending were Carl Schmidt, National Memorials Committee Chairman and Central Region Cdr, and Dan Whitney Central Region District Three Cdr. David Farran, Commander of the USSVI Iowa Base, acted as the Master of Ceremonies. Honors were rendered by BMC (retired) Jerry Leudtke on the Bos'n Pipe, as Walter Kraus unveiled the black granite Memorial.

Walter Kraus, 86, is the sole survivor of the S-36, scuttled on January 20, 1942. Walter and his wife, Enriqueta, traveled from their home in Kentucky to attend the dedication. Walter was able to bring to life the last 12 days of the S-36. His verbal image was well received and understood by all who attended.

Walter also reminded us of a sadly inescapable trend when he said "Two years ago there were three living S-36 survivors, now, on June 23, 2007, it is just me."

The back of the memorial will be a history lesson for all visitors. Written history does not adequately portray the vital role played by a very small group of American heroes, the WW II Submariners.

The back of the stone bears this message: "During WWII the U. S. Submarine Force suffered the highest loss rate of the U. S. Armed Forces. Of the 16,000 officers and enlisted men that served on submarines during the war, 3,606 (22%) were lost. Although only 1.6% of the U. S. Navy, the Submarine Force sank 30% of the Japanese Imperial Navy and 60% of the Japanese Merchant Marine, choking off the Japanese economy. The victory came at a heavy price."

The cemetery is a small, private and nearly forgotten isolated acreage of ground. Also known as a Submarine Memorial, it is now both a memorial to one person - who lost his life on a submarine fighting in the Pacific - and to all lost WWII U.S. Submariners

The submarine memorial is a much later monument and has an interesting and tragic story behind it and it's reclamation. One of the family's direct descendants was Vernon Palmer Wall, who enlisted in the Navy within days of Pearl Harbor. He was assigned to the submarine USS SEAWOLF SS-287, which was lost at sea with all hands on October 3, 1944.

Note: The USS SEAWOLF, which is the WWII SubVets-of-Texas' adopted submarine and has been memorialized in Seawolf Park, Galveston, Texas.   SEAWOLF shares its location with the USS CAVALLA Submarine Museum and the USS STEWART, the last of its class of Destroyer Escorts extant.

Until September of 1979, the cemetery itself had been forgotten and neglected. None of the family lived in the Midwest and as is happening everywhere, acreage around the plot were being sold for homesite development

Roy Gaddis, a former Electrician's Mate who is a retired electrician and lives in Bellevue, Nebraska, found the cemetery and alerted the Wahoo, Nebraska Chapter of the United States Submarine Veterans of WWII. The Chapter's Historian Clint Orr, did some investigating and found the information on Vernon Wall.  He and Ray Cavanaugh began cleaning up and mowing the small plot that year.

After some of the Wall family members learned of the plot's existence, they donated funds to put up a strong chain link fence to replace the hog wire that had ineffectively enclosed the cemetery and donated money for shrubs and plants. His family put up a cenotaph marker which is dedicated to him, together with grave markers of the US Submarine Veterans of WWII and the American Legion.

The Submarine Vets are still taking care of the plot and they keep a US flag flying over the site to honor Vernon Wall and all Submariners who lost their lives in World War II. It is a small but impressive memorial.

More information regarding this Memorial site may be found found at the website of Marta Dawes who developed the website containing the information regarding the Wall Memorial to MM/1C Vernon Palmer Wall.

All text and images in this section were contributed by Art Randall

Directions to Wall Cemetery Submarine Memorial Site:
From Interstate 29 and Highway 370 interchange (Exit 42) go one mile East on Highway 370 then turn and travel County Road L31 about 3 miles. The cemetery is on the East side up on the hill with a green fence around it.