Before radar became widespread during World War II, elevated observation towers along the coastline provided early warning against Axis air attack. Organized in May 1941 by the U.S. Army Air Corps as the Ground Observer Corps, later the aircraft warning service, this 14,000-tower system was manned by 1.5 million civilian volunteers. On elevated ground about one mile east of Moulton, just north of FM 532, the Moulton observation tower, Military I.D. Number “King 136,” stood as the only tower this far inland, approximately 100 miles from the coast. Sponsored by the Moulton Lions Club, it was built in August 1942 by community volunteer organizations from surplus lumber and windows. About 20 feet high, it had a ramp-style staircase leading to a central blockhouse, an enclosed observation room 12 feet square with windows on all four sides and a wraparound porch that gave a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside and sky. Civilian volunteers traveled to Randolph Field in San Antonio for aircraft identification training, and upon graduation each received a certificate and lapel pin. Beginning in September 1942, the tower was manned during daylight hours with aircraft silhouette charts, binoculars, and a telephone directly connected to Randolph Field. When observers sighted aircraft, they called in, identified the tower, and reported the number seen or heard and the direction flown. By May 1944 the danger of Axis invasion or air attack had faded, the Ground Observer Corps and aircraft warning service were deactivated, and within a few weeks the tower was torn down and sold for scrap. The tower and the patriotism and sacrifices of the volunteers who manned it stood as examples of America’s national home front spirit during the war.