Here is a really interesting article about the Outer Banks and especially the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It is from the National Parks Traveler blog.
The bottom of the article gives information on a free program on January 20th at 7:00pm in the Salvo Volunteer Fire Station. For those that love history and the Outer Banks, it should be something not to miss.
Torpedo Junction—Shipwrecks of WWI and WWII—Featured in Program at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks of North Carolina have long been known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic," and among the more than 1,000 vessels believed to have been lost in the area are some from World Wars I and II. They'll be the subject of a talk near the park on January 20.
Not all those shipwrecks along the Outer Banks were the result of the area's infamous storms, treacherous currents or shifting sands. A park publication notes,
Visitors to Cape Hatteras National Seashore are often surprised to learn that this tranquil setting was once an arena of death and destruction due to rampaging German U-boats. In the dark days of early 1942, enemy submarines descended upon local waters, wreaking havoc on defenseless merchant ships in full view of the Outer Banks.
The pivotal naval campaign that followed, one marked by conspicuous instances of ignorance, frustration, and heroism, came perilously close to knocking the United States out of World War II.
A talk entitled "Torpedo Junction - Shipwrecks of WWI and WWII," will be presented on January 20, 2010 by Joe Hoyt, a maritime archaeologist serving as a field technician and researcher for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. He'll speak about his work just off the coast of the Outer Banks including his findings in a recent exploration of the HMT Bedfordshire and other World War I and II vessels.
Mr. Hoyt is certainly qualified to speak on the subject. According to information from the park...
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