McCleary Civilian Observation Post

This Observation Post was in operation 1942, 1943, 1944 in McCleary, Washington. Many of our citizens volunteered to man the station to keep an eye out for Japanese war planes. They did not want mainland America to be hit so these posts were built all up and down the West Coast. It was felt that there was a real possibility of an air attack.

Our town people attended classes to learn how to identify Japanese aircraft. There was a telephone hot line to nearby military bases in case of an emergency situation. The observers also watched for forest fires. Fighting forest fires took manpower and material, counterproductive for the war effort.