On The Home Front
The World War II Home Front Museum
The Home Front Museum is appropriately
named as it tells a detailed story of the effect
World War II had on our coastal community,
and the effect the community had on the war.
Developed by the Coastal Georgia Historical
Society, the museum tells its story through
many venues. The opening video features
interviews of local residents whose lives were
touched by the war. Children and adults alike
will learn from interactive exhibits asking
them to lend a hand at plane spotting, direct
fighter pilot squadrons using radar, help build
a Liberty Ship and use rations to decide how
to prepare a healthy meal.
In many ways, St. Simons Island and the
Golden Isles communities were like many other
small towns doing their part to help in the war
effort. In many ways we were very different.
Glynn County was the location of three
critical wartime facilities: an airship base, a
radar training school and a Liberty Ship shipyard.
Two Naval Air Stations (NAS) were built
in Glynn County, and Brunswick was one of
five airship bases on the East Coast. These
were vital in preventing the U-Boat threat like
the devastating attack on April 8,1942, when
two tankers were torpedoed 13 miles off the
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coast of St. Simons Island, killling 22 mariners
and covering the beaches with oil. Fighter
pilots were also trained at the NAS radar training
school at the St. Simons airport.
The massive J.A. Jones Shipyard employed
more than 16,000 men and women who built
85 Liberty Ships in less than 3 years. These
ships were cargo carriers responsible for transporting
vital supplies to battlefields around
the world.
The World War II Home Front Museum is
located in the Historic Coast Guard Station on
St. Simons Island at the entrance to some of
our most popular beaches. Plan to spend
some time here. Docents recommend at least
an hour and a half.
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
declared, “There is one front and one battle
where everyone in the United States -- every
man, woman, and child -- is in action, and will
be privileged to remain in action throughout
this war. That front is right here at home, in our
daily lives, and in our daily tasks.” St. Simons
and The Golden Isles rose to that challenge as
did many families and communities.
Open Daily. 912-634-7098. 4201 1st
Street, East Beach, St. Simons Island.
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