Bill Ford of Shawnee shakes hands with Captain Aaron Stutzman, Commanding Officer for the USS Oklahoma submarine during a namesake visit at the Woodland Veterans Park and Museum on Sept. 9. Also shown are Rocky Goins, Chairman of the USS Oklahoma Commissioning Committee; Nancy Ford; and CDR Jay Kim, Relieving Commanding Officer. Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun
Nancy Ford of Shawnee points out her father's name, William H. Mendenhall, on the Oklahoma Memorial Wall at Woodland Veteran's Park on Sept. 9. Ford recently donated to the Dolphin Scholarship Foundation in memory of her father, who lost his life when the USS Lagarto sank in May 1945. It will pay for scholarships for those serving on the new USS Oklahoma. Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun
Captain Aaron Stutzman, Commanding Officer for the USS Oklahoma submarine, talks with Bill Ford with Shawnee Milling Company, as Relieving Commanding Officer CDR Jay Kim listens, during a namesake visit to the Veterans Education Museum on Sept. 9.
Lieutenant Commander William H. Mendenhall was 25 years old. His wife, Jayne, had moved back to Edmond, OK, and their baby daughter, Nancy, was only two months old. Mendenhall was serving on the USS Lagarto submarine in May 1945 when it was sunk by a Japanese minelayer, according to the USS Oklahoma, Aug. 12, 2025, newsletter.It was in Mendenhall’s memory that Nancy and Bill Ford of Sh...
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