Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann

The Ground Observer Corps was made up of civilian volunteers in the early years of World War II. Part of the “Aircraft Warning Service,” spotters used visual aids such as silhouettes and spotter cards to identify potential enemy aircraft along the coastline in 1942 and 1943.
No enemy aircraft were ever spotted off the Maryland coast but submarine attacks on American ships did occur and with fatal results on several occasions. The threat of spies landing from U-boats offshore was also a concern in the early years of the war.
In the photo above Ocean City’s Violet “Pete” Steger is shown at an observation post north of 15th Street in 1942.
Photo courtesy Clifford Dypsky