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The life of a Sand Pounder was not easy, and although it wasn’t combat, it could be dangerous at times. There was always the danger of being swept out to sea if one got too close to it while rounding one of the capes or outcroppings; Coasties on Sand Pounder duty frequently got soaked up to the bridle in spray from the waves. And the horses added an unpredictable element as well. One unfortunate fellow was patrolling along the coast near the Southern Pacific railroad track when the engine, passing by, fired up its boiler burner, startling the horse — which threw the rider (35-pound radio and all) and galloped off into the night. The Sand Pounders shared the fate of the Aircraft Warning Service volunteers and the Tillamook-based blimp squadron: by the time their program was up and running, the Japanese menace to the Pacific Coast — other than balloon bombs — was entirely gone. So the Sand Pounders of Oregon didn’t get much action — other than the frequent drills they participated in, practicing repelling amphibious invasion. And in early 1944, as it became obvious that Japanese invasion was no longer a threat, the beach patrols started being cut drastically back. Patrolmen young enough for combat duty were sent off to help the Navy deliver the D-Day invasion force; surplus horses were auctioned off at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds. And, of course, with the end of the war came an end of the Beach Patrol entirely. So, were the Sand Pounders a success? It depends on how you measure it. Although they never had the opportunity to catch an invasion or infiltration force, had one been dispatched to Oregon’s shores, there’s every reason to think they would have. Their effect on morale alone may have made them worth having around; their presence on the beaches was a real comfort for the nervous residents of Oregon coastal communities during the dark, fearful year that followed the Fort Stevens and Brookings attacks. But it’s also possible that the Sand Pounders had won their fight before they even suited up. When that unarmed, untrained Coastie stumbled across the Nazi saboteurs on Long Island, in the incident that caused the Beach Patrol to be organized, the message got back to the Axis Powers, loud and clear, that the American home front was not going to be an easy target. The prompt arming and organizing of the beach patrols would have been a topic of intense interest to Axis spies in the U.S., and would have been observed and reported back to Berlin and Tokyo. The fact that the patrols were mounted and equipped with battlefield radios meant that all that would be needed to ruin a months-long operation would be a glimpse. Who knows what diabolical plans were never hatched by wartime enemies because they knew the beaches were so thoroughly monitored? The Sand Pounders had a boring time of it during their lonely beach duty. None of them ever saw a single enemy combatant. But they were never meant to be a combat force. The fact that they never saw any action doesn’t mean they were a failure; in fact, if anything, it’s a certification of their complete success.
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