WWII Coastal Watch Tower, Ormond Beach, Florida

 

“But there is one front and one battle where everyone in the United States – every man, woman, and child – is in action and will be privileged to remain in action throughout this war. That front is right here at home, in our daily lives, and in our daily tasks.”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1942

We chose to do a bike ride along part of the 30 mile Ormond Scenic Loop. We started our ride on the beach and then after about a mile, we crossed to street to the sidewalk that is part of the loop and takes you to Flagler Beach. We pedaled down about 3.5 miles of the Ormond Scenic Loop before turning around. I guess we are just not as young as we used to be or as in shape. It was a nice scenic bike ride out but coming back we had the wind in our face so it made for a long three miles going back.

On the way back, we spotted this tower up on the beach and had to stop and check it out. It was a neat looking 30 foot high wooden tower that stands around the 2100 block of Ocean Shore Boulevard aka Route A1A which runs next to the ocean and has beautiful views to enjoy along the way. We crossed the road to check it out. The sign stated it was a coastal watch tower and stands here today as a monument to the civilian men and women who served the country when the country needed them most. We had seen watch towers before up in New Jersey and Delaware that were tall cement cylinders, but this was very different and pleasing looking up against the shore line.

Just after the attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, the American government went on high alert and put the Civil Defense Force as a high priority. Just five days after the attack, fifteen locals from New Smyrna Beach, took and passed the exam to become Coast Guard Auxiliary Members. They became a part of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 44 which was called Flotilla 1-3 during WWII. When they built this wooden watch tower in 1942 and they treated it with creosote to protect the wood and it is one of the last watch towers remaining in Florida. 

It was staffed by volunteer “spotters” which was a part of our ground force. During WWII there was always at least one spotter on the tower at all times to search for German submarines, aka U-boats and at least one spotter searching for enemy aircraft. They were only armed with a pair of binoculars and a telephone so if they did spot anything suspicious they could report it. During that time, even with the shores being blacked out, our ships became easy targets in that area when the Cape Canaveral Light illuminated their silhouettes. Twenty-five of our ships were sunk in the area between Daytona Beach and Fort Pierce, Florida and as many as 19 U-boats destroyed.

This tower was only one of 15,200 observation posts spread out about every 6 miles on the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coast and still a haunting memory of that scary time in our history. During WWII, a total of 650 US merchant ships were sunk and as many as 6,000 merchant ships worldwide. In May 1944, the watch towers were abandoned when Germany was no longer a threat to our nation. 

There were steps to the top of the tower but they have been removed to prevent anyone from getting injured on the well worn flooring above. The tower got refurbished in 2003 and later in 2018 it was deeded to ICU Homes which is part of the Verona Community. This is a wonderful reminder of what our country went through during WWII. It is hard to imagine now looking out over the peaceful ocean that at one time, there were enemies lurking in the waters just off the coast wanting to harm to us. Many thanks to all the civilian volunteers that helped protect our country.

Till next time. Bye for now.