This Memorial is one of dozens at San Diego's Liberty Station Park.
The memorial has a photo of the vessel..a submarine and provides a history which Wikipedia (
visit link) echoes:
"USS Darter (SS-227), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the darter fish.
Her keel was laid down on 20 October 1942 by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 6 June 1943 (sponsored by Mrs. E. B. Wheeler, wife of Edwin B. Wheeler, Shipbuilding Manager of Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut), and commissioned on 7 September 1943, Commander William S. "Gin" Stovall, Jr. in command...
Returning to Brisbane on 8 August 1944, Darter cleared on her fourth and last war patrol. She searched the Celebes Sea and South China Sea, returned to Darwin to fuel and make minor repairs on 10 September, and put back to the Celebes Sea. She put in to Mios Woendi on 27 September for additional fuel, and sailed on 1 October with Dace to patrol the South China Sea in coordination with the forthcoming invasion of Leyte. She attacked a tanker convoy on 12 October, and on 21 October headed with Dace for Balabac Strait to watch for Japanese shipping moving to reinforce the Philippines or attack the landing forces.
In the outstanding performance of duty which was to bring both submarines the Navy Unit Commendation and Darter's commander, David Hayward McClintock, the Navy Cross, Darter and Dace made contact with the Japanese Center Force approaching Palawan Passage on 23 October. Immediately, Darter flashed the contact report, one of the most important of the war, since the location of this Japanese task force had been unknown for some days. The two submarines closed the task force, and with attacks on the cruisers of Center Force, initiated the Battle of Palawan Passage phase of the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf. Darter sank the heavy cruiser Atago and seriously damaged the cruiser Takao. With Dace, she tracked the damaged cruiser through the tortuous channels of Palawan Passage until just after midnight of 24–25 October when Darter grounded on Bombay Shoal 9.456°N 116.933°ECoordinates: 9.456°N 116.933°E.
As efforts to get the submarine off the shoal began, a Japanese destroyer closed, but then sailed on. With the tide receding, all Dace's and Darter's efforts to get her off failed. All confidential papers and equipment were destroyed, and the entire crew taken off to Dace. When the demolition charges planted in Darter failed to destroy her, Dace fired torpedoes which exploded on the reef due to the shallow water. Dace did, however, score 21 hits with her 3 in (76 mm) gun. Rock was called in and fired 10 torpedoes at Darter with similar lack of success. Finally, Nautilus arrived on 31 October and scored 55 hits with her 6 in (150 mm) guns. Her report states, "It is doubtful that any equipment in DARTER at 1130 this date would be of any value to Japan - except as scrap. Estimated draft of DARTER - 4 feet." With the scuttling occurring late in the war, the Japanese made no efforts to recover the wreck, and her hulk remained remarkably intact as late as 1962."