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Press Release
On Saturday evening November 12, the Friends and Staff of Fort Macon State Park will host “A STROLL THROUGH TIME–FORT MACON in WWII.” This rare after-dark event will be an educational and entertaining trip back to the time when U-boats menaced our ships and coastline, and when the Fort was activated once again—this time as a base for the US Army to protect North Carolina and the mid-central east coast.
The entire evening will be designed to give visitors a surprising look back to Fort Macon in WWII—military vehicles will await in the parking lot, 1940s swing music will greet people entering the Visitors Center, and a documentary of interviews with North Carolina veterans recalling their experiences will be shown in the auditorium.
Visitors will be divided into groups for a guided “Stroll” through the Fort. Luminaries will light the pathway and outline the Fort in the darkness, and actors portraying real characters from the time will lay out the story for all to see and hear. Some of the storytellers include:
–Park Superintendent Virginia B. Humphrey setting the stage for passing over the keys of the Fort to the US military.
–Colonel Henry G. Fowler, 244th Coast Artillery, explaining the Army’s mission and the dangers off the coast.
–The choir of the Franklin Memorial Methodist Church of Morehead City singing carols to the troops just as they did during the War.
–Caretaker Jesse Long and soldiers reenacting the cannonball explosion inside the Fort…the “last shot fired in the Civil War”.
–Kapitanleutnant Johannes Mohr recalling the actions undertaken by the U-boat in his command, hunting allied ships right off our coast. During the early phases of WWII, 495 ships were sunk by U-boats off the U.S. coast, many along the North Carolina coastline.
Come see and hear about this chapter in Fort Macon’s storied past. The evening will begin at 6 PM. We strongly encourage visitors to consider coming later (at 7) so we can spread out the tours and keep any waiting time to a minimum.
A $5 donation per adult is requested to defray some of the expenses.
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