USS Scorpion (SSN 589) Memorial

The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum hosts a memorial dedicated to the last United States Navy submarine lost.

USS Scorpion (SSN 589), a Skipjack-class nuclear powered submarine, was commissioned on July 29, 1960. On May 27, 1968, the submarine was presumed lost since it failed to arrive in port on Memorial Day from a three month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. The United States Navy announced that the wreckage of the submarine was found 400 miles south of the Azores Islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with all 99 crew members still onboard on October 30, 1968.

photo of uss scorpion

This memorial is dedicated to Richard Schaffer and the other 98 submarine sailors who remain on “Eternal Patrol.” Richard Schaffer was a graduate of Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, Arkansas. Schaffer’s family designed, funded, and created the memorial. Bob Nesbit of Flooring Consultants Inc. etched USS Scorpion’s insignia onto concrete along with a dedication message.

The following 99 men were aboard USS Scorpion (SSN 589) when the submarine was lost:

Keith Alexander Martin AllenSteven Dean GleasonEarl Lester Ray, Jr.
Thomas Edward AmtowerWilliam Clarke HarwiJorge Luis Santana
George Gile AnnableMichael Edward HenryLynn Thompson Saville
Joseph Anthony Baar, Jr.Larry Leroy HessRichard George Schaffer
Michael Jon BaileyRichard Curtis HogelandWilliam Newman Schoonover
Walter William BishopJohn Richard HougePhillip Allan Seifert
Michael Reid BlakeRalph Robert HuberFrancis Atwood Slattery
Robert Harold BlockerHarry David HuckelberryGeorge Elmer Smith, Jr.
Kenneth Ray BrockerJohn Frank JohnsonLaughton Douglas Smith
James Kenneth BrueggemanRobert JohnsonRobert Bernard Smith
Robert Eugene BryanSteven Leroy JohnsonHarold Robert Snapp, Jr.
John Patrick BurkeJulius Johnston, IIIDaniel Peter Stephens
Daniel Paul Burns, Jr.Patrick Charles KahanekJoel Candler Stephens
Ronald Lee ByersDonald Terry Karmasek, Sr.David Burton Stone
Duglas Leroy CampbellRichard Allen Kerntke, Sr.John Phillip Sturgill
Samuel J. CardulloRodney Joseph KippRichard Norman Summers
Francis King Carey, IIDennis Charles KnappJohn Driscoll Sweeney, Jr.
Gary James CarpenterCharles Lee LamberthJohn Charles Sweet
Robert Lee ChandlerMax Franklin LanierJames Frank Tindol, III
Mark Helton ChristiansenJohn Weichert LivingstonJohnny Gerald Veerhusen
Romeo S. ConstantinoDavid Bennett LloydRobert Paul Violetti
Robert James CowanKenneth Robert MartinRonald James Voss
Joseph CrossFrank Patsy MazzuchiJohn Michael Wallace
Garlin Ray DenneyMichael Lee McGuireJoel Kurt Watkins
Michael Edward DunnSteven Charles MiksadRobert Westley Watson
Richard Philip EngelhartJoseph Francis Miller, Jr.James Edwin Webb
George Patrick FarrinCecil Frederick MobleyLeo William Weinbeck
William Ralph FennickRaymond Dale MorrisonJames Mitchell Wells
Robert Walter FleschMichael Anthony OdeningRonald Richard Williams
Vernon Mark FoliDaniel Christopher PetersenRobert Alan Willis
James Walter Forrester, Jr.Dennis Paul PferrerVirgil Alexander Wright, III
Ronald Anthony FrankGerald Stanley PospisilDonald Howard Yarbrough
Michael David GibsonDonald Richard PowellClarence Otto Young, Jr.