Honor warriors who set the bar high for sacrifice

A light rain was falling at dawn on June 29, 1776, when Capt. John Barry led barges from three Continental Navy ships around Cape May toward Turtle Gut Inlet, a waterway in what is now Wildwood Crest, N.J. That morning, Barry's men unloaded precious gunpowder from the brigantine Nancy, while fighting off attacks from three British warships, until Barry blew up the Nancy, just as enemy sailors were boarding her. Newspapers reported the blast could be heard 40 miles from Philadelphia.