Local family to present fragment of USS Arizona at December 6 event at Robey Memorial Library
The family of the late Daniel E. Regan has arranged for a small fragment of the USS ARIZONA (BB-39), destroyed at Pearl Harbor, to be presented to the City of Waukon and area Veterans' organizations at a ceremony Tuesday, December 6 at 7 p.m. at the Robey Memorial Library in Waukon, the eve of the 75th anniversary of the commencement of World War II. No part of the ship has been re-used or salvaged since it exploded that fateful day, December 7, 1941, killing 1,177 men, including Waukon native Ens. Lawrence Anderson. A few years ago Congress gave the Navy League of the United States 400 small pieces of the superstructure to be used for memorials.
The Cedar Rapids Council of the Navy League obtained three pieces through partnership with the Hilo Hawaii NLUS Council. Council President Dr. Stephen D. Regan, son of Daniel Regan, presented one piece to the Eastern Iowa Veteran's Museum July 4, 2015. Dr. Regan was determined that Waukon should have one of the remaining portions since his hometown had two men aboard the USS ARIZONA when it detonated. Ensign Anderson was killed early in the battle, but Gunners Mate Stan Teslow, also from Waukon, stationed on a rear turret, survived. Congress eventually allowed survivors' ashes to be interred in the sunken hull of the ship, and Teslow was the first to be buried with his shipmates after he died in 1982.
Dr. Regan will present a shadow box containing the rusted fragment, a photo of the USS ARIZONA made from an original negative, and a letter of authenticity. Relatives of Ens. Anderson and Gunners Mate Teslow have been invited to participate. Jacquelyn "Jac" Regan, wife of Daniel Regan, donated the money for this memorial in honor of her husband, who served as a Corpsman with the 9th Marines in the Pacific theater during World War II.
After the ceremony, Dr. Regan, a military historian and author, will give a lecture on the attack that initiated World War II. He is the biographer of Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher and was a participating historian for the book "Re-fighting World War II in the Pacific" that was published by the U.S. Naval Institute. A frequent contributor to various historical journals, he also writes a monthly column on maritime and nautical affairs.
