USS Jacob Jones (DD-130)
“Portal to Freedom”
Memorial Design & Visitor Experience
A Space for Reflection and Remembrance
The USS Jacob Jones Memorial is designed as a place for quiet reflection and reverence, located within sight of the waters where the ship was lost.
The site acknowledges Cape May, New Jersey’s proximity to the sinking and the community’s significant role in the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II.
The design guides visitors through a simple, intentionally choreographed sequence—connecting them to the story, the site, and the sea.
A Memorial Rooted in Place
The memorial’s location along Cape May’s beachfront Promenade connects the USS Jacob Jones’ tragic sinking with the community’s role in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The site was selective within the expansion of the Promenade to create a space that is both accessible and contemplative.
The design contributes to the surrounding environment through native pollinator planting while integrating historical context, symbolism, and tribute.
Thoughtful Design
The memorial is designed to fit naturally within the Cape May Promenade, its habitat, and its ongoing improvements.
It’s scale, materials, and layout create a contemplative presence that complements the character of Cape May while providing a distinct place for reflection.
A Visitor Experience &
A Moment Marked In Light
Each element of the memorial is designed to create an experiential progression from arrival to reflection and back toward the ocean.
Visitors step onto a gently raised circular platform and follow a central path aligned with the offshore location where the ship was lost.
They pass through a circular steel “portal,” where the names of the 138 fallen sailors are inscribed as cut-outs that are softly illuminated via backlighting.
Moving inward, the space becomes more enclosed and quiet, surrounded by natural plantings. This core space is formed by framing members configured in the shape of the ship’s bow; these appear to float, but they are also sloped at an angle to suggest the ship’s sinking.
The experience concludes with a view directed back toward the ocean.
Each year on February 28 sunlight aligns the memorial’s viewing portal with the sinking site and illuminates circular bronze commemorative plaque of the ship’s seal embedded in the center of the memorial’s floor. This moment corresponds with the date the USS Jacob Jones was lost. The bronze plaque will be made from bronze salavaged from the sinking site.
In this brief alignment of light, the memorial marks the passage of time while honoring a moment that should never be forgotten.
Connection to Cape May
Cape May played a significant role during the Battle of the Atlantic.
This memorial will be the first of its kind to honor an individual US Naval ship and the sailors lost to U-boats along the American coast during World War II.
By placing the memorial here, the story is permanently connected to the waters where it occurred.
