The image of an armed sailor horse riding along the beach immediately captured my imagination and inspired me to make this small diorama. Actually the man is a member of the US Coast Guard patrolling the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean during WWII. The Beach Patrol began in June 1942 and lasted until the Normandy invasion in 1944. Coast guards would frequently be mounted on horses and were armed with pistols and rifles. They were known as ‘Sand Pounders’ and protected the US from approaching German submarines and other vessels attempting to land spies or saboteurs.
