World War I & II

Image of America: Central Florida's World War II Veterans portrays the courageous people of Central Florida who fought for freedom.

From those who were witness to that date which will live in infamy to those who served in the Allied occupational forces following the victories in Europe and Japan in 1945, Images of America: Central Florida's World War II Veterans pays tribute to the courageous men and women who sacrificed and endured through this phenomenally patriotic time in American history. Represented within these pages is just a small number of the vast roll call of patriots who at one time called Florida home. Heroic, humorous, and heart-warming stories are featured through these vintage photographs of the brave men who landed on the beaches of France and on the shore of Iwo Jima, who marched at the Battle of the Bulge and at Anzio, who flew in the Doolittle Raid, and who were engaged at the pivotal Battle of Midway, as well as those who were prisoners of war and protected the home front. Also featured are the women who served as nurses, worked in the factories, encouraged people to purchase war bonds, and who joined the WAC, the WAVES, and the SPARS.

During World War II, Palm Beach County was a beehive of activity. Beachgoers witnessed the destruction left in the wake of U-boat attacks and then helped rescue survivors and retrieve the dead. One of the first Civil Air Patrol units to hunt German U-boats operated from Palm Beach County. Morrison Field in West Palm Beach served as the take-off point for Army Air Corps planes destined for battle lines throughout the world. Boca Raton Army Air Field was the headquarters for training airmen in top-secret RADAR technology. The US Army, Navy, and Coast Guard used resort hotels for training sites and hospitals.

Few Florida communities felt the impact of World War II as much as the Atlantic-coast town of Fort Pierce. With a population that soared along with its economy, the small city made an important contribution to Allied victory by hosting a major military training base. Prior to that, the war had come only as close as the German submarines stalking targets off the southern coast of the peninsula. In 1943, however, the U.S. Navy commissioned its newest
amphibious training base in Fort Pierce, and tens of thousands of young men would eventually prepare for combat on the town's sunny shores. The intensive physical and mental training was hardly "a day at the beach," and within a few months, Fort Pierce had become a major military post with a national reputation. It also became the training site of some of the most elite units of the armed forces, including the Scouts and Raiders, U.S. Army Rangers, and the legendary "frogmen."

A century ago, sparsely populated and largely rural Florida rallied as America plunged into World War I, her sacrifices and contributions celebrated here in full detail.

The proud USS Florida, too often mentioned as mere adjunct to the Atlantic Fleet, receives a just accounting, as does the utterly devastating loss of the USS Tampa, the highest death toll the navy suffered in the war. Sunshine State foresters served critical roles abroad, and local libraries became essential hubs for promoting rationing and reporting news from overseas. Floridian aid workers and soldiers training for departure were stricken with the Spanish Flu, a pandemic that shook the globe with force equal to the war itself. Authors Joe Knetsch and Pamela Gibson provide a necessary and thorough chronicle of Florida in the Great War.