Submarine Memorial Chapel, Military chapel at Pearl Harbor, United States.
The Submarine Memorial Chapel is a military building at Pearl Harbor dedicated to honoring submarine crews and located within a military base. It features fourteen stained glass windows, with submarines depicted in the lower section of each pane representing those who served during World War II.
In November 1943, Navy Chaplain Lieutenant Commander Thomas H. Reilly conceived the chapel and organized volunteers to build it. It was dedicated on September 10, 1944, before more than 400 personnel, including Admiral Chester Nimitz and Rear Admiral Charles A. Lockwood. Its fourteen ground-level stained glass windows, plus one over the main door and one over the chancel, were donated in 1959 by the president of the Electric Boat Company.
The chapel's monthly Tolling of the Boats, started by the United States Submarine Veterans of World War II, reads aloud the names of the 52 U.S. Navy submarines lost in that war and tolls a bell for each. The ship's bell in the steeple comes from USS Argonaut, donated before her final 1943 cruise. Weddings and retirements also take place here.
The chapel stands on Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, so expect the access checks of an active military installation before you reach it. Once inside, look for the small submarine in the lower part of each ground-level window and the ship's bell in the steeple. The monthly Tolling of the Boats is a public ceremony worth timing a visit around.
The steeple holds the ship's bell of USS Argonaut, donated just before the submarine left for her 1943 cruise, from which she did not return. Each of the fourteen ground-level windows, given by the president of the Electric Boat Company in 1959, hides a small submarine in its lower portion.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,618 contributors worldwide.