King Neptune (pig) - Retirement

Retirement

Illinois locator map for King Neptune's memorial marker

In 1946, King Neptune was to be sent to the Chicago Stockyards, however Lingle regained ownership of the pig and placed it on a local farm where it spent the rest of its life.

King Neptune died of pneumonia on Ernest Goddard's farm near Anna, Illinois on May 14, 1950, two days prior to his 8th birthday. He was buried with military honors about six miles (10 km) east of Anna, off Illinois route 146 at a location that became locally known as King Neptune Park. In 1956, Lingle planned to donate an additional 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land around the property for use as a Naval Reserve National Park. However, that plan never materialized, and in 1958 the construction of Interstate 57 forced King Neptune's grave to be temporarily relocated. In 1963, a new location was selected less than a mile east of the I-57 / IL-146 interchange (37°26′44.76″N 89°7′53.8″W / 37.4457667°N 89.131611°W / 37.4457667; -89.131611). In the late 1980s, after the previous monument was heavily vandalized, the state of Illinois placed a second monument commemorating King Neptune at the nearby northbound I-57 rest area (37°27′57″N 89°7′55.7″W / 37.46583°N 89.132139°W / 37.46583; -89.132139).

His original tombstone said:

King Neptune (1941–1950) Buried here — King Neptune, famous Navy mascot pig auctioned for $19,000,000.00 in war bonds 1942–1946 to help make a free world.

His birth year was mistakenly listed as 1941 on the first monument, but that was corrected to 1942 on the monument at the I-57 rest area.