County of memorial: Union County
Location of memorial: IL-146, roadside turnout, ½ mile E. I-57, 6 miles E. of Anna
Monument Text:
KING NEPTUNE
1941 - 1950
Buried Here: King Neptune
Famous Navy Mascot Pig
Auctioned for
$19,000,000.00 in War
Bonds, 1942-1946 to help
Make a free world
Reverse:
This Memorial site dedicated
By Don C. Lingle, PNAC,
...NR-R, to the millions of
people, who gave their
services to insure the life,
Liberty and Justice upon
which our country was
Founded.
Foundation Committee
Claude Williams -- Rayburn Ice
L. Oard Sitter --- Don Lingle
"Navy recruiter Don C. Lingle, originally of Anna, Illinois, working at the office in Marion, Illinois, decided to auction the pig to raise war bonds. Lingle and auctioneer L. Oard Sitter traveled throughout southern Illinois auctioning Neptune for bonds for the battleship Illinois which was under construction. Eventually, the individual parts of the pig were auctioned; his squeal was auctioned for $25 on at least one occasion. After each auction, King Neptune was returned to be auctioned again later. High demand for appearances by Neptune led them to travel the rest of Illinois raising funds. The mostly red, with white features, Hereford was often displayed covered with a blue Navy blanket and wearing a crown and silver earrings.
"On March 6, 1943, Illinois Governor Dwight H. Green purchased King Neptune for $1 million on behalf of the state of Illinois. At the same auction, one of Neptune's bristles was sold for $500.
"On one occasion in early 1945, a check was written to King Neptune for his upkeep. The bank asked Lingle to obtain the pig's endorsement to cash the checks. Lingle was promoted to Chief Petty Officer as a result of his fund raising efforts with Neptune.
"Most of the hog's appearances were sponsored by local Elks clubs and King Neptune was a life member of the chapters at Marion, Illinois, Freeport, Illinois and Harrisburg, Illinois.
"Over the course of King Neptune's fundraising career, he, Lingle and Sitter helped raise $19 million in war bonds, equivalent to about $200 million in 2007 adjusted dollars
"In 1946, King Neptune was to be sent to the Chicago Stockyards; however, Lingle regained ownership of the pig and placed him on a local farm where he spent the rest of his life.
"King Neptune died of pneumonia on Ernest Goddard's farm near Anna, Illinois on May 14, 1950, two days prior to his 8th birthday. He was buried with military honors about six miles (10 km) east of Anna, off Illinois route 146 at a location that became locally known as King Neptune Park. In 1956, Lingle planned to donate an additional 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land around the property for use as a Naval Reserve National Park.[9] However, that plan never materialized, and in 1958 the construction of Interstate 57 forced King Neptune's grave to be temporarily relocated. In 1963, a new location was selected less than a mile east of the I-57 / IL-146 interchange. In the late 1980s, after the previous monument was heavily vandalized, the state of Illinois placed a second monument commemorating King Neptune at the nearby northbound I-57 rest area." ~ Wikipedia