On Monday, May 25, 1942, there were only a few people on the beaches of LBI. Memorial Day weekend was a few days away; it would be the first since the United States had entered World War II.

Things were looking up since the dark days of the U-boat onslaught off the Jersey Shore in March. While the wreckage of the tanker Gulf Trade could still be seen from shore at Barnegat Light, it appeared changes made by the Navy were working.