The following Wherigo takes you on a tour of Bremerton's historic Ivy Green Cemetery. The site is the final resting place of hundreds of veterans and several well known local residents. To obtain the final coordinates you must complete the following Wherigo Cartridge.
Waypoint 1: John Turpin, US Navy's First African American Chief Petty Officer
At the age of 20, Turpin enlisted in the US Navy in the only rating that Black people were allowed in at that time, the mess service. In 1898, he survived the explosion and subsequent sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Cuba. Just a few years later he survived yet another explosion aboard the USS Bennington in 1905. He saved the lives of three officers and twelve enlisted men by swimming each of them to shore. Eleven other sailors were awarded the medal of honor for heroism displayed during the incident but Turpin's efforts were not acknowledged. On June 1, 1917 Turpin became one of, if not the first, African American US Navy Chief when he became the Chief Gunners Mate on the USS Marblehead. As a civilian he worked at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard as a Master Rigger and diver, and was instrumental in the development of an underwater torch and welding system used in the salvaging of sunken ships. At the age of 65, Turpin tried to reenlist during WWII but was denied because of his age.
Waypoint 2: Saratoga Memorial
This memorial honors the US Marine Corps and US Navy servicemen declared missing in action after the 1945 kamikaze bombing of the USS Saratoga during World War II. After the ship returned to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the remains of those who could not be identified were buried in this collective grave.
Waypoint 3: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God. This cemetery is home to one of only ten Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorials in America. It serves as a symbolic grave for all war dead whose remains have not been found or identified. This memorial located in Bremerton is a replica one-half the size of the original in Arlington National Cemetery.
Waypoint 4: John Nibbe, US Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient
This US Navy veteran was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Abraham Lincoln for his actions aboard the Union gunboat USS Peterel. At the age of 17, Nibbe stood his ground when the ship was fired upon by Confederate forces on the Yazoo River in Mississippi. Nibbe helped remove wounded shipmates from the line of fire and attempted to fire the ship before being surrounded and forced to surrender. Nibbe was only one of three survivors of the attack.