Partnership Aims to Restore
Dewey Beach Tower to WWII Glory

By ROBIN BROWN, The News Journal
DelawareOnline.com

A Delaware newcomer on his first beach trip was mesmerized by the massive towers along the shore. "Biggest lifeguard stands I've ever seen!" he exclaimed.

Their use is "the No. 1 question the Lewes Chamber of Commerce gets asked," said historian/professor/community leader Gary D. Wray of Lewes, an activist for their preservation. "A lot of people think they're grain silos," but they guarded the coast in World War II.

The towers -- 11 in Delaware, four in New Jersey -- were part of the $22 million Fort Miles. The fort had 2,200 personnel, a mine system, huge spotlights, radar and heavy artillery guns that could fire up to 25 miles. Observers in the 17-foot-diameter towers, 39 to 81 feet tall, relayed near-constant readings on ships to a ground site, Battery 519, that calculated positions to target weapons. But none was ever fired.

Fort Miles -- the largest U.S. seacoast fortification of its day -- protected Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania assets such as shipyards, chemical plants, refineries and the ports of Wilmington, Trenton and Philadelphia from German attacks. To today's Delawareans, that may seem far-fetched. But German submarines attacked hundreds of ships off the coast, killing thousands -- and one U-boat actually surrendered at the fort in 1945, said Wray, co-founder and president of the Fort Miles Historical Association. "She was the first enemy warship to surrender to the United States since the War of 1812," Wray and state parks historian Lee Jennings wrote in their book, "Images of America: Fort Miles."

Fort Miles, also used in the Cold War, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. The tallest tower, 81-foot No. 7, was restored by the state and federal government and is open to the public in Cape Henlopen State Park. Others were sealed.

The Division of Parks and Recreation hosts many fort programs, such as a recent Veterans Day program, to "celebrate 'the greatest generation' in our nation's history."

Wray's group, Jennings and the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation recently formed a partnership -- with the state's blessing -- to raise money to restore tower No. 3 at Dewey Beach. "We figure it's probably going to take us $300,000 to $400,000," Wray said. "The big-ticket item is the spiral staircase."

If enough additional money can be raised, he said, the historical association plans to create a World War II museum at Fort Miles, honoring those who served and explaining the role Fort Miles and its people played.

Delaware is more than lucky to have all its towers, Wray said. Two in New Jersey are gone, a third is surrounded by development and a fourth set for restoration. Other WWII coast defense systems' steel towers rusted to dust, Wray said, but a steel shortage caused by the war forced the Army to use more costly concrete when Fort Miles was planned.

"We had the only concrete fire control towers," Wray said. "They were built by locals -- the George & Lynch company -- using beach sand. That's the only reason ours are here." Use of local sand acted as camouflage, he said, and their strength is proven by their endurance. "They were expected to last 20 years. Each is one single piece of reinforced concrete, made in a single pour, a foot thick, with 10 feet underground."

Their use is dramatized in World War II living history programs, such as a recent Veterans Day gala. "Last year, we gave about 7,000 tours at Battery 519," Wray said. The battery, hidden under dunes, is "where we're going to put the museum," he added. "And that's really the prize."