With the war finally over in 1945, the cloak of miitary secrecy which smothered the Coastside during the war was finally lifted, and some information was leaked to the local newspaper.
It was as if a signal was given; the military pulled out as fast as their convoys had arrived. The airport used for target practice was returned to civilian use. The soldiers abandoned their temporary living quarters in the schools and the hotels. The mandatory “blackout” ordinance was repealed.
Overnight, the Montara naval station, including barracks, vanished.
What remained of the military presence was what could not be easily carted away: the secret tunnels and caves; the artillery outposts carved out of immovable rock at Devils Slide, the jeeps and other army-navy gear.
The Coastside turned into a perfect and mysterious playground for the local kids who romped around the jeeps, collected the targets, climbed the mountains to examine the rocky outposts, and, in the nearby forests stumbled upon stray bullets left behind.
The war had ended, the military was gone, yet something wasn’t right. The Coastside was a close-knit community and there were still secrets untold.