America entered World War II on Dec. 7, 1941. Five short months later, swarms of United States Army troops had already arrived in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. to defend the Soo Locks against potential foreign attack.
A two-day event called “M-Days” was organized in mid-May of 1942 to let folks know why the military was in town.
“Michigan Governor Murray Van Wagoner was among the dignitaries present for a huge parade on May 15th,” said local historian Bernie Arbic, referencing pg. 226 of his book, “City of the Rapids: Sault Ste. Marie Heritage." “Other related events were held, culminating the evening of May 16th with the city’s first of several practiced blackouts.”
Fort Brady soldiers in the “Dandy First” 131st Infantry of the Army National Guard marched south down Ashmun Street during the "M-Days" parade.
It was a time that would shape the world, country, and "City of the Rapids" forever.
“During most of first four decades of the twentieth century, the general public was given fairly free access to the area around the locks,” Arbic said of a different time. “People were allowed to cross over the lock gates to spend time relaxing and stroll on the piers between the locks.”
Arbic once had a conversation with his late uncle, Don Arbic, who remembered swimming in the south canal by the Weitzel Lock with a few neighborhood “chums.” The kids often used wood planks from US Army Corps of Engineers tug, Alfred Nobel, as diving boards.
That was prior to The Great Depression, which came to a close around 1939. The recovering economy called for the substantial increase of iron ore to be shipped through the Soo Locks.
“69.8 million tons passed through, and in 1940 this jumped to 89.8 million tons,” Arbic said.
The demand for steel suddenly rose even higher when the world went to war for the second time. By the end of 1941, 110.7 million tons of iron had been shipped through the Soo Locks.
According to Military History of the Upper Great Lakes, 90% of the nation's iron was shipped through the locks over the course of the war. New construction and modifications occurred in the meantime.
“On March 7, 1942, congress authorized construction of a new lock to be built south of the Poe Lock, and the Weitzel Lock had to be removed,” said Arbic.
The MacArthur was opened on July 11, 1943, named after US Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
“Aside from getting a new lock built, protection of the existing ones became a major concern on both sides of the border after Hitler invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939,” said Arbic, who cited, “Guarding the United States and its Outposts,” published by the Center for Military History, United States Army:
“At the outbreak of the European War, the War Department ordered the commander of the sixth Corps Area to take all necessary steps to safeguard the Sault waterway. Fort Brady, an old Army post located on a hill overlooking the St. Marys River valley about half a mile south of the Soo Locks, had a garrison at this time of four companies of the 2nd Infantry; Troops were therefore readily available for carrying out the War Department’s directive. On 7 September, 1939, the Sixth Corps Area commander reported that the Coast Guard was patrolling the canal approaches under Army direction, that machine guns and searchlights were being emplaced above the locks, that Army guards were patrolling the lock area and the river channel below, and that military guards were being placed on all passenger and pleasure craft transiting the canal. These were the only protective measures in effect at the Sault until 1942.”
But on Oct. 7, 1941, a locomotive hurled into the north canal above the locks, sending fearful shivers down the spines of several thousand US and Canadian citizens. No national security threat was evident. It was later decided that a portion of the Bascule Bridge had just given out.
“Thus, the accident tied up shipping,” Arbic said.
Fortunately, water traffic resumed within 48 hours of the incident.
Bold black headlines telling of the railroad accident shot across the nation. The Associated Press (AP) sent planes overhead, transmitting images to approximately 120 AP wire photo stations for the first time in its history.
“On December 7th – just two months after the accident – the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred and the United States entered the war,” Arbic said.
Defending the Sault waterway was a priority, as determined by the US Military Intelligence Corps and US Army Air Forces.
“By March of 1942, military personnel were arriving in large numbers – the 131st Infantry and the 100th Coastal Artillery were the first new units to arrive,” said Arbic.
Housing was provided at the American Legion Hall, Sault Area Public Schools, Christopher Columbus Hall, etc. New contracts were awarded to MacDonald Construction Company to build additional housing south of Fort Brady.
"Before the end of March, the 339th Barrage Balloon Battalion had arrived in town,” said Arbic, continuing to pg. 233 of his book. “By the middle of summer, according to Guarding the United States and its Outposts, there were about 7,000 officers and men assigned to duty in the Sault Military District. The peak was apparently about 7,300. Approximately 900 of them were actually stationed in Ontario.”
The military built up a Civil Defense (CD) within the city and its waterway to train and prepare for warfare.
“Mr. Paul Adams was General Chairman for Civil Defense in the Sault,” said Arbic. “Partly to allow citizens a chance to see the military personnel and equipment sent to defend the area, and partly to educate them in civil defense matters, the Sault declared May 15 and 16, 1942 as “M-Days.”
Chippewa County Historical Society's Walter Materna Collection recorded nearly 10,000 people in attendance eighty years ago on May 15, 1942.
“City of the Rapids: Sault Ste. Marie Heritage," written by Bernie Arbic can be purchased online or at Chippewa County Historical Society.
The Chippewa County Historical Society is now open for the season Monday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Sunday. It is located at 115 Ashmun St, Sault Ste. Marie. Its phone number is 906-635-7082.
