The City of New Bedford Veterans’ Advisory Board will honor the 749 United States sailors and soldiers who lost their lives during the devastating April 28, 1944 attack on the United States military training operation, Exercise Tiger. Exercise Tiger was a D-Day dry run which was ambushed by a German E-boat flotilla and resulted in America’s costliest incident of World War II, second only to Pearl Harbor. The surprise attack sank two American vessels and severely damaged a third. This year marks the 75th Anniversary of Exercise Tiger. It is the 30th annual commemoration in New Bedford.
A memorial ceremony is planned to honor the service members who perished in this incident on Sat., 4/27, at 1:00 p.m. at the Exercise Tiger Memorial at Fort Taber Park, 1000 Rodney French Boulevard in New Bedford. In case of inclement weather, the indoor ceremony will be held inside the Low Tide Yacht Club, also located at Fort Taber Park immediately adjacent to the Exercise Tiger Memorial.
The ceremony will include remarks by Mayor Jon Mitchell and guest speaker, Col. Don Cupple, Chief of Staff of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. Families of the late Louis Souza, Vincent Ricciardi, and William O’Connor, Exercise Tiger participants, will be recognized.
Additional participants will include the United States Army Brotherhood of Tankers, WWII re-enactors and local veterans organizations.
All veterans are invited to attend and are asked to proudly display their service insignia. Refreshments will be available inside the Low Tide Yacht Club following the service. For more information, contact Peter Clark, Chairman of the Exercise Tiger Service at peter.clark@newbedford-ma.gov
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