The Submarine Memorial Chapel is a military

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

onboard

Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (JBPHH) is a United States military base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It is Joint Base, an amalgamation of the United States Air Force's Hickam Air Force Base and the United States Navy's Naval Station Pearl ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, United States. Dedicated in 1944, it is the oldest chapel at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

, built in remembrance of all the submariners who died in World War II. It ceased hosting religious worship services sometime in the 2000s, but regular religious services were re-established by a congregation at the chapel in 2015.

History

The Submarine Memorial Chapel is the oldest chapel at

, Hawaii, built during World War II in remembrance of all the submariners who died in that conflict. In November 1943, Navy

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Lieutenant Commander Thomas H. Reilly conceived of the building and began to organize volunteers to build it. The dedication ceremony on September 10, 1944, was attended by more than 400 personnel, including Admiral

Chester Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; 24 February 1885 – 20 February 1966) was a Fleet admiral (United States), fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Co ...

and then-Rear Admiral Charles A. Lockwood. At some point in the early 2000s, the chapel ceased hosting religious worship services, but it continued to be the site of community activities including retirements, weddings, the monthly Tolling of the Boats and other services. On November 22, 2015, regular religious services were re-established by a congregation at the chapel.

Features

Stained glass

The chapel has fourteen

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows at ground level, one over the main door and another over the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

. They were donated to the Navy by the president of submarine manufacturer

Electric Boat Company Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

in 1959. From inside the chapel, a small submarine may be seen in the lower portion of each window.

Ship's bell

The chapel's

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

contains the

ship's bell A ship's bell is a bell on a ship that is used for the indication of time as well as other traditional functions. The bell itself is usually made of brass or bronze, and normally has the ship's name engraved or cast on it. Strikes Timing of shi ...

from , donated just before the submarine put to sea for her 1943 cruise on which she was sunk.

Tolling of the Boats

A bell-tolling ceremony, the "Tolling of the Boats", is held at the chapel every month in remembrance of the submariners killed from the 52 United States Navy submarines lost during World War II. The ceremony was initiated by the organization

United States Submarine Veterans of World War II The United States Submarine Veterans of World War II is a congressionally chartered veterans organization that was established to "perpetuate the memory of those shipmates who gave their lives in submarine warfare" during World War II. Purpose ...

, and is a solemn occasion at which "the names of each of the U.S. submarines lost, along with the fate of its crew, are read aloud as a bell is tolled for each in turn". At other bases the tolling of the boats may be held less frequently, for instance on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

, and may include boats lost before and after World War II.

Gallery

File:US Navy 100811-N-3560G-001 Cmdr. David Bynum speaks about the lost of naval submarines during the month of Aug. throughout World War II during a special bell-tolling service at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Submarine Memorial.jpg, Chapel interior, showing two of the stained glass windows File:USS Argonaut ships bell.gif, The

of – lost in combat in 1943 – is in the chapel's steeple File:Submarine Memorial stained glass panel.jpg, Miniature submarine in lower portion of stained glass window

References

External links

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{{USNAVY, article=Pearl Harbor Tourist Attractions, author= Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, url=https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrh/about/visiting_hawaii/tourist_attractions.html, accessdate=2019-02-15 Military facilities in Hawaii 1944 establishments in Hawaii Churches in Honolulu World War II memorials in the United States Military chapels of the United States Religious buildings and structures completed in 1944