Beaches residents dedicated a memorial plaque at Veterans Memorial Park on April 10 to remember the 19 men who died in the Nazi submarine attack on the SS Gulfamerica in 1942 off the coast of Jacksonville Beach.
The memorial event in Jacksonville Beach marked the 77th anniversary of the attack, which took place at 9:30 on a Friday night. Standfast Asset Management President and local historian Scott Grant provided a historical narrative of the event. The Ponte Vedra Beach and Jean Ribault chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution contributed to the memorial plaque. Ponte Vedra Chapter Regent Judy Delmar played a large role in orchestrating the event.
“Seventy-seven years ago, 19 brave Americans died off the coast of Jacksonville Beach by an act of war,” Grant said. “Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, watched them die. We are thrilled that these 19 Americans are finally being remembered. For at least five of them, that marker is the only marker commemorating their lives.”
