Model No.1329…The Unused Torpedo From The USS Swordfish

Let Us Take You To The Site… The USS Swordfish submarine memorial is located at Como Park in St. Paul, Minnesota. The park surrounds the memorial, Green grass grows thick and there are tall trees with leaves starting to change color in the fall season. Birds and squirrels move about the area though it’s certainly not in the wilderness. A neighborhood can be seen in the background, profile views of nice up-kept houses are visible. People bustle about hardly noticing the many historical sites within the park. The USS Swordfish memorial itself is isolated from the other monuments within in the park. To get up close to the submarine memorial, you walk a broken pathway extending from the main sidewalk. The dilapidated asphalt path, long grass blades extending from the cracks, meanders toward the monument. On the sides of this path sit two orange benches made of concrete. Once you get two feet from the memorial the asphalt walkway changes to cement. The concrete fans out to encircle the monument. The memorial itself is composed of a 20 foot long torpedo on top of a brick platform. The silver torpedo with an orange nose cone rests atop an orange scaffold. It looks as if the memorial has been repainted several times. However, the last paint job was likely years ago. The top layers of paint are chipped and dull. There is graffiti all over the torpedo itself, with names and signs written in black marker. Two different copper plaques can be found on the back and front faces of the platform. The main plaque is visible as you walk up to the monument. The smaller second plaque can be seen as you walk around to the backside. That pretty much sums up the site and surrounding area. If you’re interested in what is written on the plaques feel free to watch the posted video. Let Us Analyze This Site…. Representation/Presentation: The *genre* of the statue is a war memorial. In the United States, war memorials are culturally expected to be honored and shown respect. While the graffiti may defy expectation, the design of the monument does encourage respect. To read the plaque which contains the historic information, a person needs to bend down and lean forward slightly. The design automatically places any interested passerby in a humble and respectful posture. To read the desired information you essentially bow or kneel before the monument. This piece poses a *rhetorical* argument that it is meant to be honored and respected. This argument is shown through the genre of the statue as well as the metaphoric bowing action. Identity: The identity of the USS Swordfish monument in Como Park includes those who “use” the historical site, or in other words view and respect the site to honor those who fought in WWII and were aboard the USS Swordfish. People who feel the deepest respect for the site will most likely be Veterans and family members of those who fought in the war. It is assumed that most Americans will view this memorial as “important” and it creates an “us” effect as it supports “our side” of the war. To understand the memorial, there is assumed knowledge of WWII and what happened during it. You have to believe that the war was an important part of our American history to understand how important the memorial really is. It is a “common sense” assumption that everyone will honor the memorial, as that is the right thing to do. An air of silence and revelry is also expected in order to give it respect. This monument includes the identity representation of the crew of the USS Swordfish, veterans of WWII, and a list of the US submarines lost in WWII. Although this excludes, people that were killed as a result of this ship’s weaponry, ships sank by the USS Swordfish, and the manufacturers of the USS Swordfish and its torpedoes. It also does not include the primary location the USS Swordfish was usually in. When people see you observing the site, they may make assumptions that you are a patriotic person, or that you or someone you know has been in a war. A particular interesting viewer, for instance, etched in a swastika, the symbol of the Nazi regime during WWII, on one of the benches facing the monument. It is ironic though because a Japanese ship sank the submarine, but the Japanese were allies of the Nazis’. We’ll never know what the person was thinking or what their motive was when they vandalized the bench, but to most people it will pose severe disrespect and dishonor to the memory of the men who fought against enemies under that symbol. The object creates an “us” and it is possible that that “us” only consists of Caucasian people because that’s who was mostly fighting for us in WWII and we were fighting against the Japanese, so Japanese-Americans might have different feelings towards the monument, and may not feel apart of this “us”, and may instead feel part of the “them” or those who are being pointed at instead of represented by the monument. Production: The USS Swordfish memorial was created by the Minnesota Viking Squadron in honor of the men who served in WWII, especially those who were lost on the USS Swordfish on its final run. The torpedo itself was an unfired torpedo that was disarmed and taken from the USS Swordfish. The location and presentation the authors chose for the monument suggests honor and respect. To reach it you must put forth an effort by walking up a slightly inclined pathway. The torpedo is displayed in such a way to emphasize it is an important object. Its display height is at eye level and it is also the only historical monument in the immediate area. It is located out in the open with nothing else around it. In our culture the way a war monument is produced/set is a signifier to feel respect and honor. Consumption: In order to consume this historical site, you ACTUALLY need to go there and see the site for yourself. A picture won’t suffice for it. Seeing the monument with your own eyes gives you a first-hand account that you can only get by actually visiting the site. Since the site is located in Como Park, which is home to a free-of-charge zoo and conservatory, the torpedo monument is also a free site to go see. Anyone is allowed to visit the site and since it’s located right off of a walking trail, many people walk by it and observe it each day. The demographic s show that thousands of people can be seen observing the site each year…basically anyone and everyone can come and see it. Families come and see the torpedo and the parents explain to their young children what it is that they are looking at and what it stands for. WWII veterans also stop by to pay homage to their fallen comrades who served on the USS Swordfish. The normal everyday citizen is what this site is trying to reach out to, overall, in order to make present and future generations aware of the fact that past generations fought and died to defend our country so that they (the future generations) could live. In order to ‘read’ the site, you need to think about what the torpedo represents…’reading’ what the torpedo meant to the men. The men of the USS Swordfish were going to depend on that torpedo in order to combat the enemy, so basically their lives depended on a tube of metal loaded with explosives. You can also physically read the plaques on either side of the monument, which list the names of the men and submarines that were lost in the war. To read the plaques, however, you need to bend down and read them, showing a sense of respect and honor which seems like the intended purpose and placement of the plaques. Upon walking up to the torpedo, you instantly take a position on the piece. You feel a sense of wonder and awe at why such a piece of weaponry is right in the middle of a city park. You feel that it’s random and out of place, but then it draws you in. You walk closer to the site and you pass two benches, upon which you sit down on one and fully take in the site before your eyes. You notice the silver paint on the end and main body of the torpedo, as well as the dull orange color of the nose piece on the front. You also notice how dull in color the rest of the monument really is, which makes you realize that the focus of our attention is not on what color it is, but what it stands for and how it reminds us of the many countless numbers of men who gave their lives standing up for our country and defending her until their own ends. You realize that there is something more to this piece and that it symbolizes something important and your position is becoming clear to you that you are a Patriot, a thankful member of the future generation that these men died for...you realize what it means to be an AMERICAN!!! Regulation: The torpedo’s rhetoric is political and powerful. The monument is designed to construct a feeling of obligation and gratefulness towards the government and the military within society. The overwhelming text of a torpedo pointed defiantly forward for an attack signifies the importance of militarism within our history and the psychology of our politics today. The acceptance of the military prowess and political dominance is mandated by the honoring of war heroes, and those who don't appreciate this military aspect of culture are excluded and avoided. It is treasonous to not admire the torpedo rupturing the otherwise serene environment surrounding it. The USS Swordfish is an honorable memorial of the soldiers who fought and gave their lives for their country in WWII. It is a place to remember the loss of our dedicated soldiers; not just those who lost their lives on the submarine, but to every soldier who served in WWII. The torpedo is a symbolic monument placed in Como Park so that we may never forget those who so bravely served their country.