“I was in my 20s when I sat down to interview Dad. Gretchen Stringer-Robinson became a history professor.
He went to law school and the couple raised seven children.Įd’s family law practice, Stringer and Stringer, still sits on Folly Road, now run by his son, Rick, and Rick’s daughter, Liz. After the war, he returned to his wife Joy in Folly Beach. Horses and dogs were sold or returned to owners.Īfter Folly Beach, Ed Stringer served in the Coast Guard overseas on a supply ship. The horse and dog patrols were discontinued and many of the men who served went overseas to fight. started winning against the German U-boats and the focus of the war moved to Europe and the Pacific. The female guardswoman tells her commander, “Your new orderly, Sir, his CO says he needs, er, overseas duty.” One recurring cartoon titled “The Wolf” depicted a man in uniform with a wolf’s head, usually leering at women in uniform. “Tut, tut … think nothing of it.” And a racy GI cartoon depicting a busty woman in lace in front of a Christmas tree. The editors ran public service ads - warning guardsmen about venereal disease. There was a lot of bragging about the virtues of man’s best friends, and the publication was censored, only included drawings and no photos.
There was soon a magazine entitled “Hoof Pounders,” which covered the exploits of all the mounted beach patrols on the barrier islands from Daufuskie Island to Sullivan’s Island. | Photos courtesy Gretchen Stringer-Robinson “The Coast Guard from the beginning had decided to call on man’s two great allies in the animal kingdom, the horse and the dog,” said one historical publication.Įd Stringer (standing) with his fellow “coasties” on folly beach. In the Coast Guard history of the beach patrols, you can find a photo of a dog, “Poncho,” with special booties on his feet to protect from hot sand. Stringer’s “Sis” was reddish brown and had a blaze on her face. Another shot shows one of the guardsmen standing on his saddle on top of his horse.Įach horse and dog had their own military “papers” and names of course. A photo shows a group of seven guardsmen, including Stringer, beaming with smiles and swagger with “Folly Beach Commandos” scrawled at the bottom.
No doubt the servicemen on horseback were a hit on Folly Beach. To this day, Stringer-Robinson says she doesn’t know if the tale is true, but Ed and Joy married in 1943, right before her dad was sent overseas. “The family story is that my mom was sunbathing with her friend and dad rode up with on his horse,” Stringer-Robinson said, “and you know, that was that, like VAVOOM! They had to be together!” The Stringer’s family lore tells of perhaps the most exciting personal thing that happened one day on Stringer’s patrol. “Commando” Jack Barker shows off his equine skills. When their shift was done they would go to McNally’s and put their submachine guns in the closet and go have a beer because they were off duty.” McNally’s was a bar located in the center of town. “They would ride for four hours each, from each end of the beach, and meet in the middle at Center Street. What’s funny is that mostly he said it was kind of drudgery,” Stringer-Robinson said, adding two guardsmen were always paired on a shift. “I asked him what it was like being in the Coast Guard on the beach. Stringer-Robinson wrote a book on Folly Beach history and now lives on Wadmalaw Island. Local historian Gretchen Stringer-Robinson sat down to interview her father Ed about family and Folly Beach history, including his stint riding his horse “Sis” on four-hour shifts up and down the beach. German U-boats destroyed about 3,000 Allied ships during the war with many casualties.
During the war, Germany built 1,162 U-boats, 785 of which were destroyed and 377 of which were surrendered or scuttled, according to the National Park Service. military ships and commercial vessels hauling goods and supplies across the Atlantic. There were no reports they did any damage. The U-boat went on to lay six mines in the harbor. Ed Stringer met his future wife Joy (bottom row) during patrol on Folly Beach.