The Ground Observer Corps: Citizen Defenders of American Skies
At the Historical Museum’s Living History event in August, actor Cody Uptmor gave a 90-second presentation about the plane spotters who first began watching the skies for enemy aircraft during World War II, and resumed that duty in the 1950s. They continued to scan the skies of North Central Idaho until 1958, when Cottonwood’s radar base and others like it around the country became operational. Here’s the rest of that remarkable story:
The first Ground Observer Corps (GOC) formed in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack to watch for Nazi and Japanese aircraft. Civilians were called to serve as volunteers to monitor the skies. After a few hours of intensive training in aircraft recognition and report filing, observers were scheduled for duty around the clock. They were posted in any elevated structure that provided an unobstructed view of the area, scanning with binoculars. In Cottonwood, observers were stationed at the rodeo grounds and, in Grangeville, they stood in the tower of the police station. The program was discontinued near the end of the war.
The Soviet Union’s first successful nuclear test, in August 1949, shattered America’s monopoly on atomic weapons. Six months later, the United States still had an incomplete radar network. A sense of urgency grew over a possible Soviet bomber attack. A powerful radio ad from the era captured the gravity of the situation stating, “It may not be a very cheerfulbut the Reds right now have about 1,000 bombers quite capable of destroying 89 cities in one raid… Won’t you help protect your country, your town, your children?” This chilling message spurred many Americans to action, leading to a second GOC program, which rapidly expanded.
At first, 8,000 observation outposts were activated. scattered in the gaps between radar systems along U.S. coastal and northern regions. Observers came from all age groups. A site in New Jersey boasted the oldest volunteer at age 86, and the youngest, seven-year-old second grader Ronny Barker. The lad’s father boasted, “Ronny can spot and identify the planes a lot quicker than the older folks.” Many outposts were staffed primarily by children, with schools and scout troops taking shifts. The volunteers were trained with aircraft spotter cards, guides and silhouette models.
While the ground observers were the eyes of the operation, the brain was made up of 26 filter centers based in secret locations. Each ground outpost was connected by telephone to one of 26 filter centers, operated by volunteers supervised by Air Force staff. When an observer spotted any plane, friend or foe, he or she would call the filter center to report it. The filter centers then plotted and tracked the aircraft. Sometimes a report would generate enough concern to scramble fighters from the closest military base to investigate.
To test the volunteers, military flights were directed through observer sectors, with reports sometimes taking upward of ten minutes to get from an outpost to the filter center. Concerned, the Air Force revamped the program in 1952, doubling the number of outposts to 16,000, with filter centers increased to 73. To recruit the needed volunteers and introduce the new program, President Harry Truman gave an address on July 12, 1952, “Starting Monday morning, in 27 states, civilian volunteers of the Ground Observer Corps will inaugurate ‘Operation Skywatch.’ Our greatest hopes for peace lie in being so strong and so well prepared that our enemies will not dare attack. Every citizen who cooperates in ‘Operation Skywatch,’ as well as other defense activities, is helping prevent the war none of us wants to happen.”
The Historical Museum collections do not currently include any photos or artifacts from the Ground Observer Corps, with only a few from the Cottonwood Air Force Station.
Please consider donating any items you may have.