for eight days, the cruiser's officers and men worked diligently to help the devastated port community. Post-war At the end of the war, the cruiser joined the Pacific Squadron and served with it until 1920. Early that year, she returned to her old duty of encouraging stability in the perennially volatile Caribbean. As a unit of the Special Service Squadron, which was ordered to observe events in Latin America and the Caribbean and to protect American interests in those areas, Tacoma patrolled the isthmian coast until January 1924. During that time, she was redesignated a light cruiser, CL-20. During a heavy storm on 16 January, the warship ran aground on Blanquilla Reef near Veracruz. For almost a week, her crew tried without success to free her, her captain and three crewmen–Captain Herbert G. Sparrow, Radioman Second Class Edward Thaxter Herrick, Radioman First Class Homer Harry Lussier, and Radioman Third Class Solomon Sivin–drowning in those attempts. After a board of inquiry, the Navy struck her name from the Naval Vessel Register on 7 February 1924. She was sold to R. Sebastian of the American Consulate at Veracruz on 5 September 1924. Legacy The original ship's bell from the Tacoma, is currently on display at the War Memorial Park in Tacoma, Washington. References External links Protected cruisers of the United States Navy Denver-class cruisers Ships built in Vallejo, California 1903 ships Banana Wars ships of the United States World War I cruisers of the United States Maritime incidents in 1924 Shipwrecks of Mexico Ships built by Union Iron Works