History is all around us, so I thought that I would combine my love
for history and caching. I am a former Submariner
(Bubblehead/Nuke) and am proud to have served. In order to solve for the final
coordinates for this cache, you must first break out your history
book or equivalent search engine and read up on U-boats and WW
II. A good place to
start is http://uboat.net. All hints and clues are contained
within this cache page. While the narrative below holds
some fact, be advised that I have taken poetic liberties here and
there.
Long before 9/11, the
US was the target of planned terrorist attacks.
May 1942:
U-584 eases out of its moorings from the German submarine pen
located in Brest, France with 4 extra crew members (Edward Kerling,
Russell Schwager, Hans Gruber, Otto Schultz)to row ashore on
American soil. Operation Pastorius had begun!
German terrorist targets included destruction of the Pennsylvania
Railroad station in Newark, the famous horseshoe bend section on
the railroad near Altoona, plus other vital railroad parts. They
were also to attack the lock and canal installations at St. Louis
and Cincinnati and the water supply system for New York
City.
June 1942:
U-584 surfaces 25 miles SE of Jacksonville in what is today called
Ponte Vedra Beach.
Kerling and his team have an uneventful landing under the cover of
night.
Kerling’s team planned to bury their munitions crates on the beach
where they could be obtained later, head inland and set up false
identities, then get together with another saboteur team in
Cincinnati on July 4.
Each group was supplied with $50,000 to pay for living expenses,
travel and the expected bribes. The men themselves were then given
$9,000 ($5,000 of which was kept by the team leader).
This was all
real US money and not SS forgeries as in some other cases in
the war. Both teams were given a handkerchief that carried
the names of contacts and mail drops in America written in
invisible ink.
Each team was supplied with 4 waterproof crates, roughly twice as
big as a shoe box each. Three of them were filled with explosives
while the fourth contained the fuses, wires and acid.
Before burying their waterproof crates, they made a surprising
discovery. One of
their crates had been sealed improperly resulting in saltwater
contamination of their fuses. Although Kerling had been
instructed to carry $23,000 on his person, he surmised that such a
large amount of money, if discovered, would seem suspicious at that
time. So, he
instructed his team members to only carry $5,000 each and the rest
they would stash in the fourth ammo can. So, does that mean that there is
$30,000 buried in an ammo can near Ponte Vedra Beach?
My research shows that
the ammo can has moved inland!! Russell Schwager and Hans Gruber
were instructed to travel by train to Waldo, Florida for the train
ride north, while Kerling and his co-conspirator would travel north
to Jacksonville and hop a train bound for Cincinnati.
The members of
Kerling’s team, who had traveled inland, had contacts in
Gainesville, Florida where they decided to seek refuge before
continuing on their journey north. It is here where the $30,000 lay
in its waterproof container!
Before
heading north they radioed U-584 this
message:
WHDKVWBKBYFHMTFVAKLPJCBVKRTJXAIUK
NVQRLKIVCVTQPNXVNNRDJEDIMPDCC
The code itself is an
ENIGMA to me. I did,
however, uncover some valuable information but can’t make any sense
out of it: 3 Rotoren stellten "3"
"an 7" und "an 8" ein.
Bringen Sie 2 AA Batterien und erwarten Sie weitere
Anweisungen.
Original
contents inside this cache:
(1)Russian Submariner
pin valued at $15 (2)US Navy “Snipes” patches, (1) AirAntisubron
patch, (1) set of enlisted “Dolphins”, , (1) SSBN Poster, (1) DVD
copy of U-571, and (1) DVD copy of Das Boot. If you can trade military service
items in like fashion, that would be fantastic. If not, there
are some other kid friendly items to trade.
Special
Note:
Upon finding this
cache, please, please handle with care! You will know what I mean when
you sight the cache.
Use the cache handle at all times. Also, when opening the cache,
remove the top cover of the cache and set to the
side. Again,
trust me on this one! The lid disconnects very
easily from the body. I’d like to make sure that
the cache remains intact so that future cachers can enjoy the
find.
There are
hidden meanings all around us. After signing the logbook, you
can decipher the coordinates for the Enigma Bonus
cache!