# Another WWII Question : Fortified Islands In Boston Harbor
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question-fortified-islands-in-boston-harbor/722760
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 17, 2015, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question-fortified-islands-in-boston-harbor/722760 "2015-06-17T16:29:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question-fortified-islands-in-boston-harbor/722760/41 "2015-06-19T17:58:28Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#):
>
> [You recall correctly.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardment_of_Ellwood)
That happened almost walking distance from where I am now sitting. It’s also very close to the recent Refugio oil spill that recently made the news. There is a restaurant nearby supposedly constructed from the timbers of the pier that was damaged.
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### Author:  [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question-fortified-islands-in-boston-harbor/722760/42 "2015-06-19T19:10:54Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> It’s worth noting that there was a higher percentage of volunteers during the Vietnam War then there was during World War II.
But that was because they were going to be drafted anyway, and the draftees automatically got sent to the infantry in Vietnam. Volunteers had a better chance to become something besides cannon fodder. Perhaps there were fewer volunteers in WWII because men selflessly said “send me where you need me, Uncle Sam”.
I’m not saying that’s the case (I too think the “greatest generation” business is mostly hype), but that your point could be interpreted either way.
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### Author:  [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question-fortified-islands-in-boston-harbor/722760/43 "2015-06-19T19:42:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> It wasn’t just Boston harbor, either. I was up in New Hampshire on Sunday, at Odiorne Park, south of Portsmouth. They built gun emplacements there (and elsewhere) to protect the Navy yards at Portsmouth. I’m sure that was ordinary precaution, especially in the wake of Pearl Harbor – you protect your Navy’s bases (there was the Boston Navy Yard at Boston, too), regardless of the perceived seriousness of the threat. Who the hell thought the Japanese Navy was a realistic threat to ships at Pearl Harbor, thousands of miles from Japan?
>
> It’s not just WWWII, either. New York City bristles with forts that were never used. The city has never been successfully defended from a naval attack. But since the Revolutionary War no one has ever seriously tried to attack the city. \*
>
> \*Although the British famously burnt Washington in the War of 1812, they didn’t attack NYC. Nevertheless, there’s still a blockhouse built for that war in New York:
>
> [War of 1812 in New York City | Ephemeral New York](https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/war-of-1812-in-new-york-city/)
There were also gun emplacements and watchtowers along the Delaware Bay in New Jersey and Delaware. [Here](http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bunker-at-cape-may-point) is one on the Jersey Shore.
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### Author:  [@pdunderhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdunderhill)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question-fortified-islands-in-boston-harbor/722760/44 "2015-06-19T21:22:55Z")
You should see what the Nazis built in Trondheim,
> **[Naval Gun Battery Oerlandet](https://www.battlefieldsww2.com/coastal-gun-battery-oerlandet.html)**
>
> Remnants from world war 2 in Örland, Norway
Now that’s a coastal battery.
Peter
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### Author:  [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question-fortified-islands-in-boston-harbor/722760/45 "2015-06-20T13:19:10Z")
Well, the fact is, manning these forts did cost money. It must have been boring duty for the soldiers on the islands. Of course, it was better than a combat assignment. Given the lack of an enemy, there must have been some accidents when the guns were fired.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-wwii-question-fortified-islands-in-boston-harbor/722760/46 "2015-06-20T22:12:03Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#):
>
> [You recall correctly.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardment_of_Ellwood)[Twice, btw](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardment_of_Fort_Stevens).
> [And once by a German sub in Cape Cod.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Orleans)
There were also some attacks by U-boats on Caribbean islands. One was an attack on a Dutch oil refinery in Curacao (I think). There were one or two others, but I don’t remember details.
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