December 13, 1943
Naval Weapons Station Earle
On December 13, 1943, Naval Ammunition Depot Earle was commissioned. The facility, which sits on 11,000 acres in Monmouth County, was designed to provide for the safe and secure storage and transfer of ordnance – bombs, bullets, missiles, torpedoes, depth
December 21, 1944
Medal of Honor: Horace Marvin “Buddy” Thorne
On December 21, 1944, Horace Marvin “Buddy” Thorne died from wounds he received while displaying incredible courage during the Ardennes Counteroffensive, better known as “the Battle of the Bulge,” in Belgium, during World War II. Thorne would later be posthumously
April 30, 1946
Explosion Aboard the USS Solar Kills Seven Sailors, Injures 125 More
On April 30, 1946, the USS Solar, a U.S. Navy Buckley-class destroyer escort (DE 221), exploded at the Navy Pier in Leonardo, killing seven sailors and injuring 125 others. The Solar was refitted in 1946 to serve as a sonar
July 10, 1947
Vito Genovese Asserts Himself on the Monmouth County Docks
On July 10, 1947, Vito Genovese, Andrew Richard, and Louis and Dominic A. Caruso formed a new corporation called the Atlantic Highlands Wharf Company, that “handles freight and passenger transportation at the yacht harbor.” The company acquired the railroad pier
November 8, 1977
PS Alexander Hamilton – A National Historic Site You Can’t Visit
On November 8, 1977, during a storm, the Passenger Steamship Alexander Hamilton caught fire and sank next to the Navy Pier in Raritan Bay, where she remains to this day, off-limits to visitors. In her heyday, she carried 3,500 passengers