CAPE MAY – The dedicated men and women who have helped preserve our freedom were honored on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 15 at Cape May’s World War II Lookout Tower (Fire Control Tower No. 23) Museum & Memorial.
The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities (MAC) hosted the event at the World War II Lookout Tower to highlight the Cape May area’s role during the war years, honor veterans and celebrate Armed Forces Day.
Reverend Jeff Elliott from the Cape May Lutheran Church lead an invocation. World War II veterans who volunteer their time to MAC and the World War II Lookout Tower received certificates of appreciation. Reenactors from Fort Miles and Fort Mott were on hand to discuss the important role Cape May and the Tower played during the war years. Military, craft and food vendors set up shop in the parking lot across from the tower.
Naval Air Station Wildwood displayed a helicopter while Ft. Mott brought a jeep.
MAC Executive Director Michael Zuckerman noted this day was the 60th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1950.
Fire Control Tower No. 23 was part of the immense Harbor Defense of the Delaware system known as Fort Miles. Built in 1942, the tower was one of fifteen concrete lookout towers that helped aim batteries of coastal artillery, stretching from North Wildwood, to Bethany Beach, DE. Four were in Cape May County,the towers located in North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest were torn down and a third tower is located inside Cape May’s Grand Hotel, Beach and Philadelphia avenues.
Visitors can climb to the sixth floor observation platform at the top and see equipment used to determine firing coordinates for massive guns on both sides of the Delaware Bay. Each level of the tower includes interpretive panels and photos that explain the tower’s function, as well as Cape May’s important role in homeland defense during World War II. The third level of the tower is dedicated to the brave men and women from the Cape May area who served during World War II and contains the “Wall of Honor” as well as “Cape May’s World War II Honor Roll.”
Lower Township – Same old, same old local talent that complains about the 2nd homeowners and the vacation rental property owners are now moaning about the Christmas decorations along Beach Drive and Douglass Park…