German U-boat Attack on U.S. Mainland

0:00You're listening to Durham News today, powered by the Daily News Now. A disputed World War II incident is getting new recognition with a historical marker going up near Kirae Beach, south of Wilmington, North Carolina. On the night of July 25, 1943, witnesses claimed a German U-boat surface offshore and fired shells at the Ethel Dow. Chemical plan. This would mark the only known Nazi attack on the U.S. mainland during the war. The wartime censorship kept it under wraps for decades. U-boats prowled the North Carolina coast starting in 1942, sinking nearly 400 merchant ships in just six months and earning the area, the nickname torpedo junction. The chemical plant was a key target because it was the East Coast sole producer of bromine from seawater, vital for aviation fuel. German subs operated boldly with little pushback at first from the U.S. Navy, local families and military personnel reported seeing a spotlight scan the beach, followed by artillery

1:00like blasts, with shells landing in the nearby. K-fear river reports vary from three to five shells fired, but all accounts agreed the sub-banish into the night. Over time, without hard proof, the story faded into legend. Now, the World War II Wilmington Home Front Heritage Coalition is setting the marker on March 12 to honor the event and eyewitness evidence. hired naval captain and local historian Wilbur Jones, who grew up during the war, led the push after years of research. At 91 years old, Jones heads efforts to preserve Wilmington's role as America's first World War II heritage city, including events amid the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations. With witnesses gone and the plant long demolished, these steps aim to keep the home front history alive. And in the sponsor of our partner, check out the episode description, headphones in a pillow, simple idea, surprisingly addictive, S-O-L-I-S-O-L-Pillow dot com.