The torpedo that is part of a memorial at Mountwood Park honoring the submarine service during World War II was repaired, repainted and put back on its cleaned up base. (Photo Provided)

VOLCANO — The centerpiece of the memorial honoring submariners lost during World War II which was removed from Mountwood Park in May to be cleaned and repainted is back in place at the park.

The torpedo was removed May 16 from its base near the lakefront close to the entrance of the park.

Pifer’s Towing and Recovery brought in a small crane and lifted the torpedo off of its stand and loaded it on a trailer. It was taken to Federal Industrial Services along U.S. 50 where it was sandblasted, cleaned, repaired and repainted.

Federal Industrial Services President Michael Rowh said they did work on the body of the torpedo, filling holes and getting it in shape. They put on an epoxy primer before painting.

“We made it look good before we put the paint back on it,” he said, adding they did the painting in three phases where they painted the nose red, the body blue and the tailpiece white.

The torpedo that is part of a memorial at Mountwood Park honoring the submarine service during World War II was removed in May and cleaned up, repaired and repainted by Federal Industrial Services. The repaired torpedo was recently put back on its base. A flag raising ceremony was held recently after the torpedo was put back on its base, attended by a number of local veterans and others. (Photo Provided)

“We just basically put it back the way it was,” Rowh added.

The work was primarily done by him, his son and grandson.

The Sherman Williams store in Vienna donated the paint for the job, and Danser Inc. in Davisville also provided some work to get the torpedo ready.

The idea to do the job came from a neighbor who was a Marine veteran. The man came to Rowh asking if the company rented equipment that he could use to do the job. Rowh said he went to the park, looked at the torpedo and determined it was something they could do in their shop.

This was one of a number of projects they have done locally for area veterans. They also cleaned up the base at the park the torpedo sat on as well as the fencing around the memorial

The torpedo that is part of a memorial at Mountwood Park honoring the submarine service during World War II has been repaired and reset on its cleaned up base. Local businesses contributed to the work. (Photo Provided)

The businesses involved donated their time and services.

“We were just trying to give back,” Rowh said.

A flag-raising ceremony was held last week once it was back in place, where 25-30 veterans attended.

The memorial honors the service of all the submariners who served in World War II, but particularly the crew of the USS Cisco SS 290, whose 76 officers and men were killed on Sept. 28, 1943, in an anti-submarine attack by enemy ships and aircraft. The memorial also lists all 52 submarines lost during World War II, noting the vessels, the 374 officers and 3,131 men aboard are “Still on Patrol.”