Traveling Tuesday
Rhode Island: Small State, Big Contribution
At 1,214 square miles, Rhode Island is the smallest
state in the Union. To give you an idea of its size, the state would fit into
Alaska (the largest state) 486 times! Delaware is the next smallest state, yet
it is more than twice the size of Rhode Island. According to one source, there
are at least four cities in the U.S. that are larger than this tiny state.
Despite its size, Rhode Island participated in WWII in
a big way. About 92,000 residents served in the war (more than one in ten), and
nearly 2,200 of them were killed. The coastline was sealed off to civilians,
and the military and civilians patrolled the beaches. Observation and fire
control towers were constructed to look like summer cottages. Many Rhode Island
fishermen acted as volunteer observers.
With the large amount of water associated with the
state (it’s nickname is The Ocean State for a reason!), the Navy had a large
presence during the war. An interesting aside is that three future
presidents-John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and George H.W. Bush-did some of
their training at Rhode Island facilities.
The Northeast’s largest naval air station was located
at Quonset Point in Narragansett Bay. This is also the main training center for
the Seabees. Newport and Aquidneck Island included multiple torpedo production
facilities, a naval training station for nearly half a million sailors, and the
nation’s main PT boat training center. There were also three German POW camps
in Narragansett and Jamestown. The Providence shipyard produced Liberty ships,
and manufacturing plants around the state produced vast amounts of military
equipment and munitions.
But a little known fact is that Rhode Island is one of
several states that churned out hundreds of inflatable “tanks” that were sent
to southeast England in May and June 1944 to mislead the Germans into thinking
the real invasion of occupied Europe would take place in Calais (further north
of Normandy).
Perhaps another piece of forgotten history is that Rhode
Island was the site of the Battle of Point Judith, a naval engagement fought
between the U.S. and Germany on May 5 and 6, 1945. During one of the last
actions during the Battle of the Atlantic, the German sub U-853 was near the
point when she sighted and fired on the SS Black Point (an American-flagged
merchant ship), capsizing the craft and sinking it within fifteen minutes.
There were destroyers and frigates in Boston Harbor that made their way to
Rhode Island to search for the U-boat. Evidence suggests it was sunk between
midnight and midday on the 6th.
____________________________
With most U.S. boys fighting for Uncle Sam in far off
countries, Rochelle Addams has given up hope for a wedding in her future. Then
she receives an intriguing offer from a distant relative to consider a marriage
of convenience.
Conscientious objector Irwin Terrell is looking
forward to his assignment at Shady Hills Mental hospital to minister to the
less fortunate in lieu of bearing arms. At the arrival of the potential bride
his father has selected for him, Irwin’s well-ordered life is turned upside
down. And after being left at the altar two years ago, he has no interest in
risking romance again.
Despite his best efforts to remain aloof to Rochelle,
Irwin is drawn to the enigmatic and beautiful young woman, but will time run
out before his wounded heart can find room for her?
Inspired by the biblical love story of Rebekkah and
Isaac, Love’s Allegiance explores the
struggles and sacrifices of those whose beliefs were at odds with a world at
war.
Pre-order link: https://amzn.to/2yiE1vL
No comments:
Post a Comment