World War II Ended 80 Years Ago – A Visit to a Cape Cod Museum Reminds Us of Homefront Contributions
On September 2, 1945, after six years of brutal fighting, World War II, the most destructive and consequential war in history, came to an end when the Japanese surrendered to the Allies aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur (shown in the surrender photo below), Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific, presided over the surrender.
It seemed fitting, then, during a summer weekend on Cape Cod, my wife Kate and I, along with some dear friends, visited the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center, including the Marconi/RCA-Wireless Museum, which tells the story of Chatham’s contributions during WWII’s Battle of the Atlantic. Dubbed the “World’s Greatest Coastal Station,” the museum building was once home to the largest ship-to-shore radiotelegraph station in the United States. It was established in 1921 by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) — seven years after Guglielmo Marconi constructed the site — and was known to mariners worldwide as Chatham Radio, WCC. During WWII, Navy personnel monitored messages from German U-boats prowling the Atlantic. They intercepted Morse code signals, encrypted by the German Enigma machine, and relayed them to Washington D.C., where they were decrypted at the Navy’s secret sub-tracking room (related note: see my book recommendations below, where I summarize Phantom Fleet, which tells the story of the search for German U-boats). This museum is a bit of a hidden gem on Cape Cod! I found it interesting and informative in the way it depicted an important slice of WWII history. Thanks to our friend, Ed Stratton, for bringing it to our attention and organizing the outing! PS – If you visit the museum, I suggest you top off your day of history with an evening that features a Cape Cod sunset, as Kate and I enjoyed!
