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Ocracoke in Hyde County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers - Amphibious Forces, U.S. Navy Monument

— Hyde County Heritage Trail —

 
 
U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers - Amphibious Forces, U.S. Navy Monument Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, April 16, 2010
1. U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers - Amphibious Forces, U.S. Navy Monument Marker
- Western face.
Inscription.
[western face:]

U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers

Loop Shack Hill
Advanced Amphibious Training Base, Ocracoke (AATB)
December 1943 to January 1946

In December 1943, the U.S. Navy Section Base became the Advanced Amphibious Training Base (AATB) for the Beach Jumpers. Experienced officers and men from earlier units were brought back to assist in the training of Units 6, 7, 8 and 9 personnel, who would later serve in the Pacific. These units were trained in bothe classroom and live exercises of seaborne deception. To simulate full forces invasions along the beach while on board the 63 ft. ARBs (air-sea rescue boats). The boats were capable of high speeds and carried time delayed explosives, amplifiers, recorders (sound effects), smoke pots, radar, radios, rocket launchers and two sets of twin 50 caliber machine guns. They also used radio and radar counter measures to deceive the enemy. In making them believe an invasion was taking place along the beach. The base was closed in early 1946, after World War II ended and the boats were returned to Little Creek Amphibious Base, VA.

[insignia:]
U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers, World War II,

Amphibious Forces, U.S. Navy

[Rendering of Loop Shack Hill, AATB, Ocracoke - WWII]

[eastern face:]

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U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers
Turbo Vestri Hostilis
March 1943-1972

Beach Jumpers were United States Navy tactical cover and deception units which were organized under Vice Admiral H.K. Hewitt, then Commander, Amphibious Forces U. S. Atlantic Fleet, and all U.S. Naval Forces in Northwest African Waters and Western Mediterranean. The concept for Beach Jumpers came about as a result of then-Lieutenant Douglas E. Fairbanks, Jr., the Hollywood actor-turned navel officer during World War II, having been detached from “blue water” duty on the high seas and assigned to duty with British Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Combined Operations (Commandos) in England.

[insignia:]
U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers - Naval Special Warfare

United States Navy

Hyde County Heritage Trail

[Rendering of three Navy ASR Boats -WWII]

[photo:]
Lt. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
 
Erected 2009.
 
Topics. This historical marker and monument is listed in these topic lists: War, World IIWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1946.
 
Location. 35° 6.376′ N, 75° 58.119′ W. Marker is in Ocracoke, North Carolina, in Hyde County. Marker is on Irvin Garrish Highway (State Highway 12) east of Ocracoke Village. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ocracoke NC 27960, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers.
U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers - Amphibious Forces, U.S. Navy Monument Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, April 16, 2010
2. U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers - Amphibious Forces, U.S. Navy Monument Marker
- Eastern face.
At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Teach's Hole (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Island Inn Park Restoration Project (approx. ¾ mile away); Ocracoke Lighthouse (approx. ¾ mile away); Lake Company (approx. 0.8 miles away); A Light for Ocracoke Inlet (approx. one mile away); British Cemetery - HMT Bedfordshire (approx. one mile away); USRC Mercury (approx. 1.2 miles away); Ship's Rudder (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ocracoke.
 
Also see . . .
1. Ocracoke Attractions. "Beach Jumper Marker on Loop Shack Hill."
When you are driving to the village from the lifeguard beach, look for a large black granite marker on the right side of N.C. Highway 12 just before you reach the village boundary. Behind the marker, up past the dunes is an area of the island called Loop Shack Hill, the site of a little known WWII U.S. Navy project called the Beach Jumpers. This marker was installed in the fall of 2009 at a reunion of the U.S. Navy Beach Jumper Association held at Ocracoke to commemorate the island’s participation in this top secret operation.
The story of the Beach Jumpers has only come to light in recent years. In 1943, during WWII before the Naval Station was built on the island, Ocracoke hosted an advanced amphibious training base where tactical cover and deception units, precursors to the celebrated
U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers - Amphibious Forces, U.S. Navy Monument Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, April 16, 2010
3. U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers - Amphibious Forces, U.S. Navy Monument Marker
Irvin Garrish Hwy (NC 12) at Loop Shack Hill, east of Ocracoke Village.
Navy Seals, were organized and trained for the U.S. Navy. This undercover military project was known as the Beach Jumpers and existed not only on Ocracoke but also in other prime locations along the East Coast. In addition to training, these tactical cover and deception units monitored hidden German submarine activity off the eastern coast of the United States during the war. As part of the project a facility was established at Loop Shack Hill to receive pulses from a magnetic cable that ran from Ocracoke to Buxton that indicated when underwater vessels, possibly German submarines, were in the area.
The Ocracoke Preservation Museum has a new exhibit with photos that tells the complete story of this remarkable project. Go check out this wonderful display and learn about the major role that well known actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr played in the development of the Beach Jumpers, as well as other astounding facts that surround this operation. (Submitted on April 22, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.) 

2. U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers Assoc. (Submitted on April 22, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
3. Beach Jumpers. (Submitted on April 22, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
 
U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers - Amphibious Forces, U.S. Navy Monument image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Tom Bosse, September 20, 2021
4. U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers - Amphibious Forces, U.S. Navy Monument
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on December 10, 2022. It was originally submitted on April 21, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,990 times since then and 45 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on April 21, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.   2, 3. submitted on April 22, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.   4. submitted on December 10, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024