thedrifter
07-29-07, 07:50 AM
U-boat surrender re-enacted
Fort Miles' role in guarding coast focus of historical association ceremony
By PATRICK JACKSON, The News Journal
Posted Sunday, July 29, 2007
LEWES -- V-E Day had come and gone, but on May 14, 1945, German U-boats loaded with torpedoes were still lurking off the East Coast.
That's the day Lt. Cmdr. Thilo Bode and the crew of U-858 decided to call it a war and surrender, first to a pair of U.S. destroyers, and later to the U.S. Army at Fort Miles.
"They actually had to surrender three times," said Gary Wray, president of the Fort Miles Historical Association. "They surrendered to the Marines, who boarded her; they had to re-enact the surrender for the admiral and they had to surrender to the Army because the Army didn't recognize a surrender to the Navy."
And Saturday, a hardy band of German Navy re-enactors surrendered to the Army one more time -- this time with a little mandatory suspension of disbelief.
For one thing, there was no U-boat at this surrender site, the Cape Henlopen State Park fishing pier.
U-858 was sunk in October 1947 off Cape Cod during Navy torpedo tests. The only remaining U-boat in the United States, U-505, is a museum piece in Chicago. U-505 was captured at sea by the Navy in 1944.
Saturday, the historical association also celebrated Fort Miles' role in protecting the U.S. during the Cold War by unveiling a plaque at the Biden Center honoring the fort's role in the Navy Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS), a chain of underwater listening posts designed to locate Soviet subs off the U.S. coast. When SOSUS identified the area where a sub was operating, Navy planes dropped sonar buoys to keep closer tabs on the boats.
"It's something people don't know a lot about," Wray said. "But it was vital during the Cold War."
Mike Rogers of Milford, dressed in World War II-period khakis of an Army captain, said living-history events like this are valuable. And Park Oehme, who lives near Lancaster, Pa., agreed.
Oehme, dressed like a Navy Seabee, was making the rounds on his 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA.
"It's important for people to remember what we were fighting for," Oehme said. "This is the last time this country was fully behind a war."
Nine-year-old Zachary Fretz of Newark was caught up in the spirit of the day. Zachary, who said he's inspired by his grandfather, an Army veteran of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II, watched the surrender wearing a GI helmet liner with a GI pistol belt and canteen.
"I come down here as much as I can," said Zachary, who hopes to become a re-enactor someday. "This was great."
Ellie
Fort Miles' role in guarding coast focus of historical association ceremony
By PATRICK JACKSON, The News Journal
Posted Sunday, July 29, 2007
LEWES -- V-E Day had come and gone, but on May 14, 1945, German U-boats loaded with torpedoes were still lurking off the East Coast.
That's the day Lt. Cmdr. Thilo Bode and the crew of U-858 decided to call it a war and surrender, first to a pair of U.S. destroyers, and later to the U.S. Army at Fort Miles.
"They actually had to surrender three times," said Gary Wray, president of the Fort Miles Historical Association. "They surrendered to the Marines, who boarded her; they had to re-enact the surrender for the admiral and they had to surrender to the Army because the Army didn't recognize a surrender to the Navy."
And Saturday, a hardy band of German Navy re-enactors surrendered to the Army one more time -- this time with a little mandatory suspension of disbelief.
For one thing, there was no U-boat at this surrender site, the Cape Henlopen State Park fishing pier.
U-858 was sunk in October 1947 off Cape Cod during Navy torpedo tests. The only remaining U-boat in the United States, U-505, is a museum piece in Chicago. U-505 was captured at sea by the Navy in 1944.
Saturday, the historical association also celebrated Fort Miles' role in protecting the U.S. during the Cold War by unveiling a plaque at the Biden Center honoring the fort's role in the Navy Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS), a chain of underwater listening posts designed to locate Soviet subs off the U.S. coast. When SOSUS identified the area where a sub was operating, Navy planes dropped sonar buoys to keep closer tabs on the boats.
"It's something people don't know a lot about," Wray said. "But it was vital during the Cold War."
Mike Rogers of Milford, dressed in World War II-period khakis of an Army captain, said living-history events like this are valuable. And Park Oehme, who lives near Lancaster, Pa., agreed.
Oehme, dressed like a Navy Seabee, was making the rounds on his 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA.
"It's important for people to remember what we were fighting for," Oehme said. "This is the last time this country was fully behind a war."
Nine-year-old Zachary Fretz of Newark was caught up in the spirit of the day. Zachary, who said he's inspired by his grandfather, an Army veteran of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II, watched the surrender wearing a GI helmet liner with a GI pistol belt and canteen.
"I come down here as much as I can," said Zachary, who hopes to become a re-enactor someday. "This was great."
Ellie