Florida in World War II: Floating Fortress

Few realize what a vital role World War II and Florida 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 reveals the lasting impact of World War II on Florida as the United States heads into the seventieth anniversary of its entry into the war.

Dr. Nick Wynne retired in 2008 from his post as executive director of the Florida Historical Society. After obtaining his PhD in history, Dr. Wynne taught college history at the University of South Florida. Since 1996, he has served as executive director of the Florida Historical Library Foundation. He is an active lecturer who has given 450 presentations and speeches in the past five years and more than one hundred television and radio interviews. He is a member of the Southern Historical Association, the American Historical Association, the Florida College Teachers of History, the Georgia Association of Historians and, of course, the Florida Historical Society. He currently resides in Rockledge, Florida (near Cocoa Beach).