Marker

Friday morning at 11 am about 150 people gathered on the lawn of the Preservation Society museum for a ceremony honoring the WWII Navy cover and deception unit (the Beach Jumpers) which trained on the island from December, 1943 through January, 1946. This was a top secret organization. Islanders knew nothing about the operations of the Beach Jumpers. Only now are details of their mission coming to light.

Ocracoke was chosen for the Beach Jumper's base because of the island's remote location. During and immediately after the war Ocracoke was only accessible by mailboat, private boat, or plane.

After the ceremony all present went to the base of Loop Shack Hill (from which the Navy monitored an underwater radar loop during WWII) for the unveiling of a new marker recognizing the Beach Jumpers. Click on the link below to see a photo of the marker:

http://www.beachjumpers.com/BJAmarker.htm

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is a reprint of an article Philip wrote about sailing aboard the historic two-masted schooner, Mary E. It was originally published in the Washington Post in 1976. You can read it here:
http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news092109.htm