Cape Coral unveils monument honoring Merchant Marine and Navy Armed Guard

A new monument in a city in Lee County will honor unsung heroes from World War II.

A memorial was unveiled for the U.S. Navy Armed Guard and U.S. Merchant Marine at Four Mile Ecological Preserve in Cape Coral Saturday.

“We’ve always played a role in our nation’s history ever since our nation was founded,” Captain Anthony Drudimattia said.

Drudimattia also said not everyone knows just how critical U.S. Merchant Marine are to our nation’s armed forced.

“The Merchant Marine have been involved in every military conflict anywhere in the world serving the United States of America,” Drudimattia said.

Dave Yoho served as a Merchant Marine during WWII. He said they were not granted veteran status until years later. He said many never lived to see that.

“Because they are often referred to as the lost servants,” Yoho said. “With 250,000 recruited, less than 2,000 are here today,” Yoho said.

Drudimattia said they worked for a year and a half on this memorial. Mayor Joe Coviello and veterans from all over Southwest Florida also honored tow servicemen who recently died.

They also placed the dog tags of veteran Greg Goodrich on the Iraq war hero’s monument. Goodrich served in the U.S. Army and was killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Veteran Brent Taylor, a U.S. Army major was also honored. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Southwest Florida Military Museum will host the inaugural Cape Coral Memorial Day Parade in downtown Cape Monday.

“That you’re in empathy with them and what they had to go through,” said.

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