Seamen's Memorial Equatorial Sundial -- Port Arthur TX
N 29° 52.476 W 093° 55.784
15R E 410214 N 3305253
The Seamen's Memorial Equatorial Sundial in downtown Port Arthur TX is dedicated specifically to the memory of the 31 sailors who died in the S/S Texaco-Oklahoma disaster of 27 March 1971, and generally to all seafarers who have been lost at sea.
Waymark Code: WMG5P3
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/16/2013
Views: 1
The Seamen's Memorial Sundial stands on the outer edge of the Lamar State College-Port Arthur campus in a small memorial park very near downtown. The park is dominated by this beautiful, sculptural sundial, complete witn a date chart, complicated graph, and instructions to use the sundial to find the exact watch time.
This small park and wonderful sundial serves a memorial to the 31 men of the tanker S/S/Texaco-Oklahoma who died when their oil tanker broke up and sank off the coast of North Carolina in 1971. Thirteen members of the crew survived.
An annual memorial service for those lost at sea has been held here ever since.
Safety lessons learned and after-actions taken from the investigation of that disaster resulted in 200+ WWII-era ships being decommissioned, and new ship-safety measures being incorporated in the design of new vessels.
The sundial was erected by Sea Explorer Posts 700/701, and sponsored by the Port of Port Arthur Port Commission. A small plaque on the outer park wall holding the sundial reads as follows:
"SEAMAN'S MEMORIAL EQUATORIAL SUNDIAL
Erected 1973
In tribute to the men of the Texaco-Oklahoma and all who go down to the sea in ships thru the port of Port Arthur
May God bless them" [end]
From a 30th anniversary of the tragedy story in the Orange (TX) Record newspaper: (visit link)
"Texaco Oklahoma a tragedy at sea remembered
At 3 a.m. on March 27, 1971, the U.S. flag vessel TEXACO OKLAHOMA, fully loaded with a cargo of black oil, broke up and sank about 120 miles NE of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in heavy seas. The ship was en route from Port Arthur, TX to Boston, Massachusetts with 44 officers and crewmen on board, many from the southeast Texas area. After an exhaustive search only 13 survivors were found – 31 perished. The Gulf Coast community was understandably rocked by the event and several memorial services for the victims were held ashore and at sea.
The tragedy would have a lasting impact on Port Arthur and the nation at large. In 1976, a Memorial Sundial was erected in Port Arthur dedicated to the TEXACO OKLAHOMA and her crew – it is the site of an annual memorial service for all seamen lost at sea. Further, the sinking of the TEXACO OKLAHOMA and other similar incidents in the early 1970s necessitated the decommissioning of 200 WWII era vessels."[end]
Relevent website: [Web Link]
List if there are any visiting hours:
24/7/365
Entrance fees (if any):
0
Date dedicated: 03/27/1976
Sponsor(s): Port of Port Arthur Port Commission
Parking coordinates: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
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