Just before the United States
entered World War II, rumors of Fifth Column activities were rampant...one
school teacher wrongfully reported to her class that a student’s father,
who had a German name, was caught making a short wave radio broadcast in
German.
The war was brought to American shores when two oil tankers were
torpedoed about 15 miles off St. Simons Island. Civilians in small yachts
rescued the survivors.
Glynn County, Georgia, a laid-back southern community nestled between
Jacksonville and Savannah became a bee hive of war effort activities.
Civilian volunteers manned airplane-spotting outposts...women and men
patrolled the beach at night until the military came...Governor Talmadge
organized the Georgia Defense Corps.
A shipyard was located in Brunswick to build Liberty Ships. Workers
moved into the area by the thousands.
World War II brought a radical change to this community and the
individuals who lived in, came to or passed through during those years.
Memories from the Marshes of Glynn: World War II
is the story
of those individuals who bravely tackled the tasks at home to win the war.
The book contains first hand recollections of those who
witnessed, volunteered and worked to help win the war.
Over 200 people who lived in Glynn County during that
time contributed their memories: from the rescuers of the survivors of the
torpedoed merchant ships, to the people who moved here to work in the J.
A. Jones Shipyard, to young boys and girls who in their own way
contributed to the war effort.
