On April 7, 1917, just hours after President Woodrow Wilson had signed the declaration of war, Secret Service agents entered Tuckerton, N.J., with the purpose of arresting all German employees involved in operating the Tuckerton wireless station. Although the many employees had lived in Tuckerton for more than five years, they were now considered enemy aliens and sent off to a POW camp. The 850-foot tower came under the complete control of the U.S. Navy and was guarded by a force of Marines.

For the rest of the war, most Americans would receive their news from the Western front via the German-built tower, but…