Few realize what a vital role World War II
played in each other’s history. The war helped Florida move past its southern conservative mentality and emerge as a sophisticated society, and thousands of military men were trained under Florida’s sunny skies. Here are stories from some of the one hundred military bases, including Tyndall Field, where Clark Gable trained, and Eglin Air Force Base, where Doolittle
planned his raid on Tokyo
. Read about Camp Gordon Johnston, referred to as “Hell by the Sea,” built in a swampy, snake-infested subtropical jungle, and uncover the secrets of “Station J,” a base that monitored the transmissions of German U-boats prowling off the coast.
This fascinating collaboration between historians Nick Wynne and Richard Moorhead revealed the lasting impact of World War II on Florida as the United States headed into the seventieth anniversary of its entry into the war.
World War II was fought between the Allies and the Axis powers between 1939 and 1945. Florida was still Spanish territory at the time of the Revolution, but was acquired by the United States, from which it seceded in 1861. Jimmy Doolittle led the first raid by American warplanes against Japan in 1942, proving to the Japanese that they were not safe at home from American war efforts.