RESCHEDULED - Winter Speaker Event - "A
History of Submarine Warfare Along the Jersey Shore"
Tuesday, May 16,
2017, 7:15 pm. Township
of Ocean Board of Education Offices (Old Oakhurst School), Auditorium, 163
Monmouth Road, Oakhurst, NJ 07755
Speaker
to tell the surprising story of submarine warfare off the Jersey
coast
The
Jersey Shore is known for many things, but a hotbed of submarine activity during
World Wars I and II?
In
their book, A History of Submarine Warfare Along the Jersey Shore, co-authors
Joe Bilby and Harry Ziegler document this surprising piece of maritime history.
At 7:15, Tuesday, May 16, at the Board of Education Building, 163 Monmouth Rd.,
Oakhurst, Joe Bilby shares their findings in the next talk of the Museum’s
Speakers Series.
Those
findings trace the state’s connections to submarine warfare back to 1776, the
year the first (and not very successful) American submarine sank in the Hudson
River off Fort Lee.
The
connections continue with the story of Paterson resident John Holland
(1841-1914), the self-taught engineer credited with inventing the first truly
viable submarine. He ran his experiments in the Passaic River.
Most
fascinating perhaps are the stories of German U-boats planting mines and sinking
ships off the Jersey coast during the World Wars. On “Black Sunday,” June 2 ,
1918, the German sub U-151 stopped, evacuated, and sank six commercial ships
along our shore. Twenty-four years later, in the early months of our involvement
in World War II, German subs were back, destroying merchant ships traveling
along our coast.
Please
join us May 16 to see the images and hear the full story. Speaker Joe Bilby, a
Newark native, Vietnam veteran, and current Historian for the National Guard
Militia Museum of New Jersey, has written over four hundred articles and
nineteen books on New Jersey and military history. Over the years, he has
generously shared his expertise and personal collection of photographs and
memorabilia with our Museum.
A
book signing follows the talk. And a very brief general meeting—just long enough
for the election of Museum officers—opens the evening.
The
speaker event is open to the public, free of charge. Donations are appreciated.
Refreshments are served. (We collect and welcome nonperishable items for the
FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.)
