Ghost Towers topic of Lewes Historical Society Nov. 16
The tallest is 73 feet and the shortest is a mere 37 feet. Eleven are in Delaware and two are in Cape May. Regardless of height, all are 17 feet in diameter. Their vertical windows are empty and glassless. Their two or three horizontal slits stare blankly toward the ocean. On all but one, the entrances are welded shut. Made of concrete mixed with beach sand, these silent sentry cylinders were built in haste and expected to last perhaps a generation.
Today, these towers are senior citizens. Still standing tall, they serve as a reminder of the U.S. Army’s World War II role of protecting the Delaware Bay and defending the country against a naval attack. The Lewes Historical Society program at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 16, at Lewes Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall will focus on how these towers served the nation’s coastal defenses when Bill Grayson presents “Delaware’s Ghost Towers: The Coast Artillery’s Forgotten Last Stand During the Darkest Days of World War II.”
Grayson, a formally trained Air Force intelligence officer experienced in counter-intelligence and operations security, said he often drove along Delaware’s beaches and was curious about the towers. “I wanted to learn more about these observation or fire control towers. Why were they there, and what was their role? I began my search at Cape Henlopen State Park’s visitors center, where I was told that there had been a book about the towers, but it was out of print and not available because of inaccurate information,” he said. That was all he needed to embark on a research project that took him to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., the Army Artillery Museum at Aberdeen Proving Grounds and Coast Defense Study Group to seek information from other authoritative sources in Delaware.
The result of his curiosity and tireless research evolved into a book on the so-called ghost towers. In it, he notes that Fort Miles’s “most visible reminders (as to its importance to history) are its mysterious ghost towers, souvenirs of the most fearful period of modern American history. The towers hint of a larger story worth understanding and memorializing.” Grayson will tell this story using archival and modern-day photos and data in an illustrated presentation. He has authored other military-themed books, and following his talk, his book, “Delaware’s Ghost Towers,” will be available for purchase and signing.
The Lewes Historical Society program is free and the public is cordially invited to attend. Light refreshments will be served following the presentation.
