The Georgia island that fought off Nazi U-boats with a “sandwich and suicide squad”

St. Simons Island’s Battle Against German U-Boats

War came to St. Simons Island at midnight on April 8, 1942.

German submarine U-123 struck just offshore, sinking two oil tankers and killing twenty-two sailors. Windows in nearby Brunswick shook from the blasts.

Coast Guard ships and even the Coca-Cola founder’s son raced to save survivors. When the government sent little help, island folks took action.

They wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, who helped start the Georgia Civil Air Patrol.

These brave pilots, dubbed the “Sandwich and Suicide Squad,” flew dangerous missions on tiny budgets. The quiet Georgia coast soon bristled with defenses that kept German subs at bay for the rest of the war.

Their remarkable story awaits at St. Simons’ historic Coast Guard Station.

German Subs Hit Near St. Simons Island in 1942

A German submarine called U-123 fired torpedoes at two oil tankers close to St. Simons Island just after midnight on April 8, 1942.

The attack killed 22 crew members on the SS Oklahoma and Esso Baton Rouge. People in Brunswick heard the blasts and felt their windows shake.

This attack brought the war directly to Georgia’s shores for the first time. The burning ships created a glow that people could see for miles along the coast.

Rescuers Rushed Into Oil-Covered Waters

U. S. Coast Guard ships responded quickly after getting distress calls from the burning tankers.

Charles Howard Candler, whose father started Coca-Cola, took his yacht straight into danger to help pull people from the water. The rescuers faced tough conditions with oil burning on the water surface.

Local fishermen who knew the waters well joined in with their small boats to reach survivors who had drifted away. Teams worked all night despite darkness and rough seas.

Coast Guard Station Turned Into Emergency Hospital

Survivors showed up at St. Simons Coast Guard Station wet, hurt, and shocked.

Military staff quickly set up treatment areas while asking sailors what they saw of the German sub. Women from town brought dry clothes, blankets, and home-cooked food for the shaken crew members.

The station wasn’t built for such emergencies but changed overnight as military and civilian workers teamed up to help the injured sailors.

Locals Helped Bury Unknown Sailors

Five sailors killed in the attack couldn’t be identified and got buried in Brunswick’s Palmetto Cemetery as “Unknown Seamen. ” Hundreds of island residents came to the funeral though they never knew these men.

Coast Guard members from St. Simons performed military honors.

These sailors stayed unnamed until 1998, when military records and DNA tests finally put names to the men who died off Georgia’s coast.

The Attack Showed Georgia’s Coast Had No Protection

After the U-boat attack, St. Simons folks realized their coastline sat completely open to enemies.

The government moved slowly to send military help, leaving locals worried about more attacks. Busy shipping lanes just offshore carried important war supplies daily.

People held meetings across the island to talk about seeing lights from more submarines and wondered when the Germans might come back.

A Letter to the First Lady Changed Things

Fed up with the lack of protection, people from St. Simons and Sea Island wrote directly to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Community leaders got signatures and took photos of the attack’s aftermath to make their case stronger. The well-connected islanders used every political contact they had to ask for coastal defenses.

Mrs. Roosevelt acted fast, using her influence to get resources for Georgia’s coast and starting changes that would make the island important to the war effort.

Local People Started Georgia’s First Air Patrol

The Georgia Civil Air Patrol formed after Roosevelt stepped in, using the island’s small McKinnon airport as their base.

Regular pilots volunteered their own planes and flying skills to watch for enemy submarines along the coast. Local mechanics offered to keep the aging planes running.

The small airfield suddenly buzzed with activity as pilots planned routes and practiced spotting submarine periscopes breaking the water’s surface.

They Called Themselves the “Sandwich and Suicide Squad”

Civil Air Patrol members ran on such tight money they got nicknamed the “Sandwich and Suicide Squad. ” Pilots often paid for their own gas and packed lunch sandwiches for long flights.

Their planes stayed outside in all weather because they had no hangars.

When parts broke, mechanics got creative since most aviation parts went to military planes overseas. The volunteers flew dangerously low over the ocean in small planes with almost no safety gear if they crashed.

Navy Took Over the Island’s Airport

McKinnon Airport changed hands in late 1942 when the Navy took control of the field. Workers quickly made the runways longer and built new barracks and operations buildings.

Many Civil Air Patrol members stayed, working with military staff to keep coastal watches going.

The quiet island airport grew into a busy military base with dozens of planes and hundreds of people arriving each week.

St. Simons Housed New Radar Technology

The Navy built a special radar school on St. Simons to train people on this new technology.

Radar operators learned to spot different types of boats and submarines from their electronic signals. Former Civil Air Patrol members helped teach military pilots how to work with radar stations during coastal flights.

Big radar towers soon dotted the island, scanning the waters day and night for any sign of enemy activity.

German U-Boats Never Dared Come Back

By late 1943, Georgia’s coastal defenses had grown so strong that German submarines stayed far from shore.

Submarine-hunting blimps from Glynco Naval Air Station patrolled overhead while radar stations tracked all movement in coastal waters.

The coordinated defense network created by military personnel and civilian volunteers proved remarkably effective.

What started as a community’s desperate response to attack had evolved into an impenetrable shield protecting not just St. Simons Island but the entire southeastern coast.

Visiting St. Simons, Glynn County

You can learn about St. Simons Island’s WWII home front heroes at 4201 First Street.

The museum is open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 12pm-5pm with adult tickets $12 and kids 6-12 $6. Military gets $2 off with ID.

Try interactive exhibits like plane spotting and radar training that show how locals and military worked together after the 1942 German U-boat attacks.

It’s part of Georgia’s WWII Heritage Trail with passport stamps.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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