WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
I've mentioned before on Ricochet that my grandma worked for the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII when a German U-boat was spotted in Mobile Bay (at the mouth of the bay, I presume). Before reading Torpedoes in the Gulf during college, I had no idea the war had come so close to home; aside from Pearl Harbor, of course.
But, while swapping Veterans Day stories this morning, a friend laid this whopper on me. Germans actually landed saboteurs on American soil in 1942.
Normandy. Anzio. Guadalcanal. Okinawa. Those are some of the historic landing sites for World War II invasions, legendary names that should never be forgotten. But there were lesser landings, as well, such as at Amagansett, New York, and Ponte Verdra Beach, Florida. That's right. There were at least two mini-landings in America, engineered by Germans, of course, not Allies.
In the midst of World War II, two German submarines actually put men ashore at both of those locations. The invaders did not arrive with the intent of seizing and occupying territory, however. Their mission was sabotage.
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As far as the Abwehr was concerned, these were only the first of many sabotage teams that would be slipped into America at the rate of one or two every six weeks.
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On June 22, Hoover proudly wrote President Franklin D. Roosevelt that the FBI 'had already apprehended all members of the group which landed on Long Island,' adding that he expected to have the rest in custody soon. He failed to mention that without Dasch's unexpected surrender and confession the FBI might never have found the saboteurs.
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Dec '10
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
And the Japanese bombed... Oregon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_Monument
Oct '10
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
You missed the finale. The Florida saboteurs, including one American citizen, were given a military trial and hanged 8 days later.
May '11
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
Absolutely true. The Germans landed saboteurs. The Japanese bombed Oregon. The Japanese also invaded and occupied two of the Aluetian Islands, Kiska and Attu.
Apr '11
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
The Japanese also shelled Fort Stevens, Oregon, in June of 1942.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardment_of_Fort_Stevens
Feb '11
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
And 70 years later we engaged in a never ending war with militant Islam, with most Americans expecting our homeland to be safe.
They will learn how to strike here.
What we do then is the big question.
Sep '10
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
A bit of related trivia: Because of the recent bombing of Pearl Harbor, the 1942 Rose Bowl was not played in Pasadena, but in a small, Mid-Atlantic college town two-plus hours from the Atlantic: Durham, N.C. (The Blue Devils lost, of course.)
Aug '10
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
Now we're demonized for entertaining terrorists at Club Gitmo.
Nov '10
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
Also the Japs (can I say that -- people still say Krauts...) shelled the Ellwood Oil Field, in Goleta, California -- right next to Santa Barbara.
Nov '10
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
Paul DeRocco
Now we're demonized for entertaining terrorists at Club Gitmo. · Nov 11 at 1:18pm
Tells you a lot about the utter moral-political insanity of our times.
Aug '10
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
Aaron, the case, ex Parte Quirin, was discussed at length in our Anwar Al Awlaki thread.
Mar '11
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
There is also the second attempt to bomb Pearl Harbor - Operation K.
Mar '11
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
There's a persistent rumor here in St. Charles Parish, just upriver from New Orleans that the Germans landed in U-boats and came ashore in some of the German communities like Des Allemans (which means The Germans) and bought bread and other supplies.
Aug '10
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
The Germans also:
Feb '11
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
Immediately after the US entered WWII, the Germans launched "Operation Drumbeat," which involved using U-boats to attack U.S. coastal shipping traffic. They had considerable success for a while, partly because ships continued using their normal lighting and coastal downs did not enforce any sort of blackout, resulting in ships being easily identified and then silhouetted against a lighted backround. Something like 400 ships and 5000 lives were lost through these attacks.
Feb '11
Re: WWII: Germans Landed on American Soil
This event spawned an alternate-history novel, the title of which I forget. The Germans had sent in a small force to take out Gen. Leslie Groves and the Manhattan Project. They got as far as Tennessee when a local militia under the leadership of an elderly Sgt. Alvin York found them. Sgt. York pretty much repeated his WWI feats. Wish I could remember either the title or the author. Wish I could shoot like that!
Which reminds me of one of my pet peeves: Why isn't the gov't promoting the Civilian Marksmanship Program? (http://odcmp.com/) It's a gov't chartered program. Not only do they no longer promote it, they no longer make old military firearms, like the Garand, available to the program. They melt them down.
We need that program. You can spew all the lead you want, but it's worthless unless you hit somebody…preferably the enemy! 'Friendly fire' isn't!
I want our military to spew less lead, and hit more targets.
Remember, Sgt. York did most of his feats with a Colt M1911 .45 pistol. He was out of ammo for his rifle.
</end rant>