Many are not aware that at the base of the Cenotaph is a plaque that gives recognition to the service men and women who died in the line of duty during World Wars I and II. Also, at mid-level of the Cenotaph is a plaque in memory of the four Defence Force Marines, who died after their vessel, HMBS Flamingo, was sunk by foreign military aircraft.
The Flamingo Incident was the first and only act of hostile aggression by a foreign country against the Commonwealth of The Bahamas since becoming independent in 1973. The four Marines, ages 21 to 23, were the first Bahamians to die in the line of duty during a new era for The Bahamas.
Today, at the Annual Remembrance Day Ceremony, the Commander Defence Force, Commodore Tellis Bethel laid a double-wreath at the Cenotaph in the Garden of Remembrance. The double-wreath was laid in recognition of armed service personnel, who perished during World Wars I and II. It was also laid in remembrance of the four Marines who “died in service to their country on HMBS Flamingo on May 10th, 1980.”
