This Long Island beach was the site of America’s only Nazi landing

John Cullen’s Encounter with Nazi Saboteurs at Amagansett

On a foggy night in 1942, Nazi spies crept onto Amagansett Beach from a U-boat. They ran into 21-year-old Coast Guard Seaman John Cullen, who had just a flashlight and flare gun.

The German leader tried to buy his silence with $260, but Cullen rushed back to report them. By morning, guards found bombs and uniforms buried in the sand.

Within two weeks, the FBI nabbed all eight saboteurs.

This one beach encounter launched the massive Coast Guard Beach Patrol, with 24,000 guards, 2,000 dogs, and 3,000 horses watching our shores.

Today, Robert Moses State Park stands where American soil was nearly breached.

A Young Coastie Stumbles Upon Nazi Spies at Midnight

John Cullen was just 21 when he walked his usual patrol on Amagansett Beach, Long Island on June 13, 1942. The Coast Guard seaman carried only a flashlight and flare gun as he moved through thick fog around midnight.

Suddenly, he spotted four men coming from the water. This chance meeting was the first time an American faced foreign enemies on U.S. soil since the War of 1812, though Cullen didn’t know it then.

Four “Fishermen” Tell a Fishy Tale

The strangers told Cullen they were fishermen stuck on a sandbar coming from Southampton. Their story fell apart when one man spoke German to another.

Cullen saw sand-covered clothes nearby and got suspicious.

The group’s leader, George Dasch, grabbed Cullen’s shoulder and said, “You’ve seen too much already. ” Dasch then put $260 in cash in Cullen’s pocket and told him to forget everything.

Quick Thinking Saves the Day

Cullen played along with the bribe to stay safe. He knew four men could easily overpower him since he had no real weapon.

“Sure, I’ll forget about it,” he told them before walking away. Once out of sight, Cullen ran back to Coast Guard Station #80 and woke his commander.

He handed over the money and explained what happened. Minutes later, armed Coast Guardsmen headed to the beach.

Buried Explosives Reveal a Nazi Plot

By morning, Coast Guard teams searched the beach and found scary items buried in the sand. They dug up German uniforms, TNT, timing devices, and bombs.

The submarine that dropped off the men, U-202, had hit a sandbar and stayed stuck until high tide freed it.

The search turned up the first part of “Operation Pastorius,” a Nazi plan to attack American factories, railroads, and water supplies.

More Saboteurs Land in Florida

Just three days later on June 16, a second team of four Nazi agents came ashore near Jacksonville, Florida. They arrived on another submarine, U-584, with similar explosives and plans.

All eight men had lived in America before going back to Germany when war broke out. They spoke good English and carried American clothes, ID cards, and thousands of dollars for their two-year mission.

Secret Plans to Cripple American Industry

The Nazi saboteurs planned to blow up aluminum plants that made airplane parts, dams powering factories, and key railroad bridges. They brought enough TNT, fuses, and timing devices to attack targets for two years.

Each man trained at a sabotage school outside Berlin. They learned American slang and customs to blend in while carrying out attacks across the country.

FBI Captures All Eight Nazis

The plot collapsed when Dasch and another saboteur, Ernest Burger, changed their minds. Dasch called the FBI in New York and told them everything.

At first, agents didn’t believe his wild story until he dumped $84,000 in cash on an FBI office desk. Within two weeks, they caught all eight men.

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover took most of the credit, barely mentioning Cullen’s key role in spotting the spies first.

Roosevelt Orders a Special Trial

President Franklin Roosevelt wanted quick justice for the Nazi agents. He set up a special military tribunal instead of using normal courts.

The trial lasted just three weeks in July 1942 behind closed doors. When defense lawyers fought this process, the Supreme Court held a special summer session.

They voted 8-0 that the tribunal was legal, creating a new rule for trying enemy saboteurs.

Six Spies Face the Electric Chair

On August 8, 1942, six of the saboteurs died in the electric chair at the DC jail. Dasch got 30 years in prison while Burger received a life sentence for helping authorities.

The executions happened just 55 days after Cullen spotted the men on the beach.

President Harry Truman cut their sentences short in 1948, sending both men back to Germany where many saw them as traitors.

Hero Status for an Ordinary Seaman

The Coast Guard gave Cullen the Legion of Merit medal, making him one of the first enlisted men to get this honor in World War II. He jumped three ranks from Seaman Recruit to Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class.

Though FBI Director Hoover downplayed his role publicly, the military knew that Cullen’s actions helped show major gaps in America’s coastal security that needed fixing fast.

Thousands of “Sand Pounders” Guard American Shores

The Coast Guard created the Beach Patrol in July 1942, just weeks after the Nazi landing. The force grew quickly to 24,000 personnel watching 3,700 miles of coastline.

They set up 192 patrol stations and used 2,000 trained dogs and 3,222 horses to cover remote beaches.

Two-man teams carried rifles, pistols, and radios as they watched for enemy activity 24 hours a day until February 1944, when the threat of invasion had passed.

Visiting Robert Moses State Park, New York

You can visit the Amagansett Coast Guard Station at 160 Atlantic Avenue to learn about John Cullen’s famous encounter with Nazi saboteurs in 1942.

The museum opens seasonally with guided tours and displays original Coast Guard equipment and photos from World War II. A historical marker outside tells Cullen’s story.

The facility is wheelchair accessible, and they hold an annual June event with reenactments commemorating this pivotal moment in American coastal defense history.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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