An interesting observation for comparative purposes. It would appear that this information might be, if not
extremely difficult to dig out; costly relative to its value - albeit for "shroud of secrecy" that probably veiled
it from general knowledge. Although a child at the time, I never learned of the "sinkings" on the east coast until
the 1950's: partly because, maybe, people on the west coast were self centered on the other foe. I remember nearly
falling into a "pit trap" while playing amongst the heavy shore batteries stationed on Point Loma, Calif. It was
very late in the War, and the Army command had become quite "loose" in its attitude toward defense of the
homeland - probably feeling quite left behind - and not fully appreciate of having the luxury of being "left
behind".
A possible source might be the deck logs of ships that were permanently stationed in the area and assigned to
Anti-submarine Warfare (ASW). Again, it's an expense to obtain; and, a pain to research as they are extensive and
just plain boring. Another area might be lighthouse or life-station logs amidst U.S. Coast Guard records. Since
U.S. Coast Guard operations are transferred to the Navy (at least that was now it was then - who knows now?) under
wartime conditions, the Department of the Navy's Historical section ought to have some "handle" on where this
information might reside. I also remember a "Life Magazine" front cover "photo" of a uniformed patrol along a
beach. The records from that command might be more valuable depending upon what reporting requirements were in
place. Again, I would think it was a Navy responsibility at the time.
Hopefully, someone has written about your observation; and, all this work has already been done.
Regards, Ray
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Smith at dhova" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 9:27 AM
Subject: Oil spills on Virginia Shore during WWII
I certainly do not want to minimize the disaster in the gulf, with all the oil washing ashore. But I would like to
get a better understanding of just how much it is. e.g. the other night, I understood the announcer to say it was
much less than the Exon Valdez.
But more to the Virginia point, I recall as a little tyke living at Virginia Beach during WWII, and having a
tremendous amount of oil wash ashore from tankers sunk offshore by German U-Boats. It was thick and coated
everything. Seagulls and other marine birds really took a hit. Is there any tabulation of how much oil was in
tankers sunk just off the VA and NC shore between Jan and June 1942? How much reached shores? And how it was
cleaned up?
Randy Cabell
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