The 26th "Yankee" Division on Coast Patrol Duty, 1942-1943

Within hours of the strike against Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military sprang into action to implement a "contingency plan" previously drawn up to protect the coast against a full-scale German invasion or incursions by Nazi espionage agents and saboteurs. The War Department placed the 26th "Yankee" Division (YD) under the jurisdiction of the 1st Coast Artillery District, a subdivision of the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps. Military leaders charged the division with securing the coast of New England