Thursday, January 22, 2015

The US Coast Guard Station on Saint Simons Island







Eric parked the Jeep in front of
the US Coast Guard Station, also
known as the Maritime Center.









This US Coast Guard Station was
constructed under President 
Franklin Roosevelt's Works 
Progress Administration Program.







Flat Ollie is our guide
around the Coast Guard
Station Museum.









The US Coast Guard's motto is Semper Paratus... "Always Ready."  It is the countries oldest continuous seagoing service.   The Coast Guard is also the United States' smallest military service. This station's mission is to search for and rescue commercial ships.  

The average size of Coast Guard station crews was about fifteen men and/or women.  The motto of the Life Saving Service of the Coast Guard is "You have to go out, but you don't have to return."







We watched an introductory
film in the small theater.








Flat Ollie directs us up
the stairs to visit
more displays.












Visitors climb the ladder
to the observation deck.







The parking lot & Saint Simons Island homes.
The water is just beyond.









The Coast Guard Station's
tower & flags.










I descend & look for
other exhibits.









During World War II, local
women worked for the J.A.







Glynn County residents built Liberty Ships in the Brunswick Shipyards.  The King and Prince Hotel became a radar training school and living quarters for Naval personnel in the area.   






This display features a log book,
Motorola Modulator Receiver
& a copy of Coast Guard
Magazine.






German U-Boats lurked along the Atlantic coast after the outbreak of World War II.  The coastline was patrolled by blimps.  Sand dunes marshes and inlets were patrolled for German saboteurs by boats, Jeeps, trucks, with dogs and on horseback.









A sailor's sea bag & a
set of puttees.









On April 8, 1942, the SS Okinawa and Esso Baton Rouge were chased and torpedoed by the German submarine U-123.  Twenty-one crew members were killed.  The Coast Guard rescued the survivors. The two ships were salvaged, repaired and returned to service.








A World War II sailor's locker
includes dress whites, dress
blues & a pinup of

World War II ended. Troops and sailors were deactivated and shipped home.  The Coast Guard's mission to search for and rescue commercial and private vessels in US waters doesn't change.  

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