CAPE MAY – Residents attending a meeting May 29 on the proposed USS Jacob Jones Memorial Monument seemed to like an early design, but believe its location should be “more reverent” and consolidated with educational opportunities offered by an exhibit on the Navy destroyer at the World War II Lookout Tower in Lower Township.
Myles Martel, a Cape May resident and founding member of the Jacob Jones Memorial Committee, and John Boecker, a retired Yale University-trained architect and head of the city’s Historic preservation Committee, presented plans for the monument’s design and location, currently proposed for The Cove, at the end of Beach Avenue in Cape May.
The design of the 30-foot monument is still being finalized, but early sketches indicate it will be built incorporating different angles and features from the destroyer. Names of the 131 seamen who died on the ship, which was sunk by a German U-boat in 1942, will be included on the memorial.
Seven residents attending the May 29 session thought The Cove was “too commercial” and “not reverent enough” for the memorial, although they liked the design.
Additional feedback will be sought at a Zoom session Monday, June 2, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the following link, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7178778038?omn=84969934527, and in person Tuesday, June 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Cape May City Council chambers at City Hall, 643 Washington St.
“No monument currently exists anywhere to honor any U.S. naval ships destroyed by U-boats nor their crews who made the ultimate sacrifice,” Martel said. “The proposed Cape May monument will be the first of its kind. It will commemorate and honor the Jacob Jones, in addition to all the other U.S. naval ships and crews lost to U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic.
“The intent from the beginning was to have a site in the City of Cape May for the monument because when we found articles about the sinking, they all said ‘off Cape May.’ This was an effort to help reinforce Cape May as a historic landmark.”
Martel said the May 29 feedback was “very informative and enlightening” as the memorial committee goes through a process of designs and proposed sites for the monument. Both he and Boecker promised residents that their feedback would be taken seriously. The Cove is the fifth location being considered by the committee.
“The Cove is an address known to all the locals,” said longtime resident Roz Johnson. “It’s a living, unobstructed space with memories for everyone, whether they are of surfing, an engagement or wedding, or views of the lighthouse. It’s not reverent enough for this memorial.”
The proposed monument at The Cove would have no effect on the views of the lighthouse, according to Boecker, affording a direct line of sight to the beach and ocean. The committee also thought The Cove would be a fitting destination because it would “enhance the experience of this popular destination, harmonize public art with nature and views of the lighthouse, and add a historical component to the flag-lowering ceremony” held at the nearby pavilion during the summer season.
All existing bike racks, beach access, showers and fire hydrants would remain.
Owners of The Cove Restaurant and Seaside Deck, at the end of Beach Avenue at The Cove, agreed with Johnson, citing all the activity that takes place at The Cove. They also mentioned the lack of parking and the “harshness” of the weather at the site.
They also said they believe that the pool of water that would surround the monument would be used “to wash sand off feet or to lean surfboards against,” further taking away the reverence they felt the memorial deserved. A pavilion at The Cove is subject to graffiti and vandalism, they said, which could carry over to the monument.
Another resident, Mark Allen, pointed out that the World War II Lookout Tower houses an exhibit about the Jacob Jones and urged the committee to consider placing the new memorial closer to that exhibit, so educational opportunities could be consolidated.
Boecker, a founding partner of 7group, a firm that focuses on green buildings, regenerative practice and design that integrates with the local environment, said the memorial committee has been working for about a year on shaping the monument to the Jacob Jones, which was sunk on Feb. 28, 1942. It was the first U.S. warship sunk by a German U-boat during the Battle of the Atlantic following the declaration of war on the U.S. by Germany.
One hundred thirty-one officers and crew perished, and all but one body remains entombed within the wreckage at the sinking site. There were 11 survivors who were treated at the Cape May Naval Air Station, now the U.S. Coast Guard base.
Johnson, along with several other residents, also took issue with the lack of attendance by City Council members at the May 29 meeting, noting they would benefit from hearing directly about residents’ concerns.
City Manager Paul Dietrich, who poked his head into the meeting briefly, said he was “enthused by the number of people” attending the session because there usually are only two or three people at such meetings. He said that at this time, the project is “not a city-directed project” and that City Council members wanted the committee to obtain resident feedback, which the meeting provided.
Boecker presented preliminary design plans at the April 15 City Council meeting, saying the design will continue to evolve based on a variety of factors, including input from community members as well as fabrication and construction parameters.
Martel said donations to fund the project will be raised through a nationwide campaign currently being established through a nonprofit organization, Jacob Jones Memorial.
Contact the reporter, Karen Knight, at kknight@cmcherald.com.
