Near Muir Beach in Marin County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Soldiers Guarding the Coast

Relics of Tense Times

— Golden Gate National Recreation Area —

Soldiers Guarding the Coast Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, January 14, 2022

1. Soldiers Guarding the Coast Marker

Inscription. Early in World War II, the United States was reeling from Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and moved to augment the defense of San Francisco Bay from enemy ships. Base end "fire control” stations proliferated along the coast in those fearful times. Built to house soldiers on the lookout for enemy ships, and equipped with a very powerful spotting scope, they could relay ship coordinates to a central communications and plotting center, so powerful guns in nearby batteries could take accurate aim at their targets. Here you can investigate four historic base end stations, nicknamed "gopher holes” by the soldiers. Two of them served gun batteries in the Marin Headlands. One served Fort Miley south of Ocean Beach in San Francisco, and the fourth was assigned to a minefield, which paralleled the shipping channel along the Marin shore.

"Gopher Holes"
The soldiers' main duty was to scan the ocean for enemy ships. Each base end station had two men on duty at all times. Most base end stations were a single room, furnished with bare necessities. Two narrow bunks and a stove made them livable, but duty in these "gopher holes”

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could be cold and miserable. In an old motor court at nearby Muir Beach village, the Army leased cabins for a cook-house and to house soldiers stationed in this area.

Wearing Parkas in Summer
On many days, this was a cold, damp, windy, foggy, isolated place to be stationed during World War II.

During the summer of 1944, an officer commanding one of the stations here put in a supply request for cold weather parkas and fur lined boots for the men. A few days later, he received a call from a supply sergeant at an army depot. Why, the sergeant wanted to know, did the coast artillery need Arctic-type clothing...in California?

He had just shipped an order of summer-weight shorts and shirts to the Army air force base at Hamilton Field. Weren't the two posts just a few miles apart? The lieutenant replied: "You'd have to be from the Bay Area to understand."

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, World II. A significant historical year for this entry is 1944.

Location. 37° 51.764′ N, 122° 35.142′ W. Marker is near Muir Beach, California,

Soldiers Guarding the Coast Marker - wide view, looking north image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, January 14, 2022

2. Soldiers Guarding the Coast Marker - wide view, looking north

The marker is the rightmost of the three interpretive panels, with the other two being natural history panels. The structure on the right is one of the four "gopher holes" at the lookout site.

in Marin County. It can be reached from Seacape Drive west of California Highway 1. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sausalito CA 94965, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s San Francisco Bay Area,

in the North Coast,

and specifically on the Coast Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Preserving the Forest Primeval (approx. 2.2 miles away); Fall in Muir Woods (approx. 2.2 miles away); Redwoods and Their Relatives (approx. 2.4 miles away); United Nations Conference on International Organization (approx. 2½ miles away); Marin Headlands (approx. 3.3 miles away); Reed's Mill (approx. 3.4 miles away); Cold War Legacy: Missiles to Marine Mammals (approx. 3½ miles away); Old Mill Market Hikers' Trail Map

"Gopher Holes" image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, January 14, 2022

3. "Gopher Holes"

(approx. 3.6 miles away).

More about this marker. The marker is located at the Muir Beach Overlook, and is easily seen from the parking lot there. There is a sign for the overlook when traveling north on Highway 1.

Marker inset: <i>A powerful mounted spotting telescope was used...</i> image. Click for full size.

courtesy of the San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library, 1942

4. Marker inset: A powerful mounted spotting telescope was used...

A powerful mounted spotting telescope was used to scan for enemy ships and track targets during target practice. The telescope sat on a steel pedestal bolted to the floor.

Marker inset: <i>Plotting...</i> image. Click for full size.

courtesy of the San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library, 1942

5. Marker inset: Plotting...

Plotting room crews received base end station sightings and computed firing instructions for gun batteries in the Marin Headlands.

Marker inset: <i>Using a method called "triangulation"...</i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Vivian Young

6. Marker inset: Using a method called "triangulation"...

Using a method called "triangulation” and data provided by two lookout posts (base end stations) positioned in key spots along the coast, a plotting crew could pinpoint targets miles out to sea.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 15, 2022. It was originally submitted on January 15, 2022, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 356 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on January 15, 2022, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.