2020 “Tolling of the Boats”

The Tolling of the Boats ceremony honors and remembers all lost submarines and submarine sailors of the United States Navy. The ceremony was initiated by the United States Submarine Veterans of World War II to remember their lost friends and shipmates lost during World War II. The US Navy lost 52 submarines and some 3,000 submarine sailors during the War.

The 2020 Tolling of the Boats was held by the Dorado Base United States Submarine Sailors (The Dry Docked Dolphins) at Veterans Memorial Park in Wichita on Sunday Oct 4th at 1:00 pm.

The ceremony involved a flag salute, trumpeter, keynote speech by Rob Knapp, President of Wichita’s Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School, a wreath was laid at the base of the SS Dorado Memorial.

Then commenced a reading of the name and the hull number of every US Navy submarine lost at sea. If any Kansans were aboard a submarine at the time it was lost, their names were read along with their ship name and hull number.

After each hull number, sub name (and, if appropriate, the name of each Kansan) was read a bell was tolled and a red carnation thrown into the nearby Arkansas River in remembrance.  Before the ceremony concluded, “Taps” was then played on the trumpet while all veterans in attendance saluted and a gun salute was fired.