Many Pompano residents remember the Coast Guard patrols on the beach during the Second World War. The servicemen were housed at the Silver Thatch Inn and used horses to keep watch over local shores.

But this was not the first time the Coast Guard performed this role here. During the First World War a number of Guardsmen were stationed at the Hillsboro Lighthouse. According to David Butler in his book, Hillsboro Lighthouse, "One of the [lighthouse's] storage buildings was converted to a barracks for a U. S. Coast Guard Beach Patrol. Four signalmen were stationed at the base, and they communicated with ships by semaphore flags or by using Morse code with lights."