WWII Not the way I heard it

“I did not know that,” I told my husband when I finished listening to the audio version of Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves.”
“What didn’t you know?” he asked.
“That hundreds of tankers, shipping boats and tug boats were sunk by five Nazi Uboats between January and July 1942. The Germans wanted to cut off the supplies being sent to Great Britain or to factories for war production.”
“Remember we toured that old fort near Chesapeake Bay about 10-12 years ago?” I continued. “The information guide said that during WW2 it served as the post for guarding the coast. I thought it a waste of man power. I mean, why bother guarding the Atlantic coastline when the war only happened in Europe, Asia and North Africa. I did not know that the enemy actually crossed the Atlantic.”
“They did?” he said.
“Yes, according to L.M. Eliott’s research for the book, 397 ships were sunk during that time period. The Nazis called it ‘The Happy Time’ it was so easy. Five German U-boats trolled the coast mostly near New York City and Chesapeake Bay, Usually attacking at night using the coastal cities’ bright night lights and lighthouses that outlined the ships entering or leaving port. In July the government made blackouts mandatory.”
“That’s another thing,” I said. “I never understood the pictures I saw of New York City during those blackouts. Why did they need blackouts? World War II was not fought in America. Or so I thought until I learned about the attacks against ships just off our coast. Now it makes sense. They needed blackouts for the safety of the sailors and the coastal cities.
“I knew that there were a few submarines off the Pacific Coast. However the short piece I read about the submarine that made it to shore sounded almost comical – they were arrested so quickly. I did not understand that the one submarine represented many others off shore,” I said.
We looked online and in the encyclopedia for a quick reference to these events. We found little. World War II reporters and newspapers kept some news off their pages or to a minimum. Even in the novel, there is a brief reference to how the newspapers down played the sinking of the ships.
Imagine if that happened today? Social media would be flooded with all the cell phone pictures of the flames lighting the horizon. Everyone would have an opinion and second guess everything done in response. Maybe it would have disheartened the war effort to see so much loss so soon with so little that could be done. Our country had sent all but five old war ships to Hawaii and Great Britain.
Instead of losing hope, everyone heard a heavy emphasis on doing everything possible to win. Children gathered used materials to recycle. Young women went to the factories to build ships. The president’s wife Eleanor Roosevelt got on the radio and emphasized everything women could do to be economical. Young men joined the Army eagerly. My grandmother volunteered to be one of the watchers who sat in a hut on the top of a hill a couple hours at a time to scan the skies for planes. I always figured she never saw one enemy plane. The old farm place was several hours inland and at least three hours from the Canadian border.
I posted my new insight about WWII on Facebook. A history teacher said it was news to them. A reporter said the Germans were also in the Gulf of Mexico.
My newly found knowledge reminded again that those who forget their history are destined to repeat it. It is still true: Not even two huge oceans can protect us against an enemy.