Lighthouses During World War II

Although more than one thousand lighthouses have been constructed in the U.S. over the years, according to the US Lighthouse Society, there were never more than 850 in operation at the same time. During the colonial period, beacons were primarily used as navigational aids, then lighthouse ships came into being, followed by lighthouses.

Initially under the Treasury Department, lighthouse operations moved to the Department of Commerce in 1910. Nearly two decades later on July 1, 1939, the service merged with the U.S. Coast Guard. Keepers were given the choice of staying on as civilians or joining the Coast Guard with a military rank. Additional Coast Guard members were assigned to the lighthouses, living and eating with the keeper’s family.

Along the East Coast, the more than six hundred lighthouses became observation posts where “Coasties” patrolled the shoreline for U-boat activity on foot with K-9 units, horseback, and jeeps. Wireless radios were installed at the top of lighthouses to provide communication with others lighthouses on the coast.

Two lighthouses in Florida had additional responsibilities.

The St. Augustine lighthouse added a training station where hundreds of men and women received

basic training. Headquarters was set up in the famous Ponce de Leon Hotel, a luxury hotel built between 1885 and 1889 by Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler and known as The Ponce.

The Jupiter Inlet lighthouse added naval married men’s quarters and the super-secret Station J, an operation using high-frequency direction finding (HF/DF), AKA “Huff-Duff” designed to intercept U-Boat radio messages and tip off U.S. forces to attack enemy vessels. According to the National Park Service, this highly successful site ended German dominance of the Atlantic.

Do you know of other lighthouses with special duties during World War II?

_________________________

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a former trustee for her local public library. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state and immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

Legacy of Love: Part of the Cheerful Heart Christmas Anthology

Will their love come at a cost?

Escaping Boston to avoid a marriage of convenience aimed at garnering society’s respect for her family name in the shadow of her father’s war profiteering, Meg Underwood settles in Oregon. Despite leaving behind the comforts of wealth, she’s happy. Then the handsome Pinkerton agent, Reuben Jessop, arrives with news that she’s inherited her aunt’s significant estate, and she must return home to claim the bequest. Meg refuses to make the trip. Unwilling to fail at his mission, Reuben gives her until Christmas to prove why she should remain in Oregon and give up the opportunity to become a woman of means. When he seems to want more than friendship, she wonders if her new-found wealth is the basis of his attraction.

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4qd3eR2

Photo Credits:

Biscayne Lighthouse: Pixabay/Jeff Raymond

St. Augustine Lighthouse: Pixabay/Michelle Barnhill


Sources:
https://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/2020/08/11/world-war-ii-on-americass-first-coast-part-two-the-american-response-semper-paratus/

https://monheganmuseum.org/WWII/war-begins-landing-page/war-begins-coast-guard

https://www.jupiterlighthouse.org/blog/station-j-world-war-2/

https://serenewandering.com/2024/06/30/world-war-ii-tower-and-the-cape-may-lighthouse

https://uslhs.org/sites/default/files/articles_pdf/Ponce_de_Leon_WWII.pdf

https://www.coastalgeorgiahistory.org/visit/world-war-ii-museum/

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/history-of-lighthouses.htm