A brand-new sign on Route 115 was unveiled Wednesday morning to mark the newly named Submarine Veterans Memorial Highway, a 6½ mile section from Long Pond Road by the Pocono Raceway to Jonas Road in Mount Effort.

It’s a visible gesture to honor sailors who served the nation invisibly, some losing their lives under the sea.

“Submarines are there. You don’t see us … but we’re out there, we’re out there protecting off the coast,” said Mike Smith, secretary of the Pocono chapter of the United States Submarine Veterans.

State Rep. Jack Rader, R-Monroe, and state Sen. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe/Northampton, and others gathered by the Pocono Raceway to dedicate this portion of the highway with members of three different chapters of the Submarine Veterans.

This organization is active in the Monroe County community. The Pocono chapter alone has 52 active members.

The dedication of this highway has been two years in the making.

The Pocono Base first approached Rader with the idea. Rader introduced House Bill 1964 in 2018, which passed the Senate the same year as Act 61. Then the dedication had to wait on the construction widening that section of Route 115. Roadwork is still ongoing, and construction noises continued during the ceremony.

The signs will have good visibility. This section of highway is heavily trafficked, especially when there are races at Pocono Raceway.

“You see this memorial highway, that memorial highway, but I’ve never really seen a section for submarines,” Smith said after the ceremony.

During the ceremony, Rader and Scavello thanked the veterans for their service.

“This is important to me, it’s important to our district,” Rader said. Referring to the veterans’ continued service in the community, he added: “It’s not just what you have done in the past, it’s what you’re continuing to do.”

“It’s about time that there’s a road in Monroe County named after the submarine vets,” Scavello said.

Veteran Jeff Owens, who served in the 1960s, described the dedication it takes to serve on a submarine away from one’s family.

“It’s a very technically demanding field,” Owens added. “All the people that are on submarines are highly intelligent, highly skilled and dedicated to their work.”