Florida’s East Coast in WWII
My father fought in WWII. I still have the photos of his tent campsite and when he was color-guard in a parade. The war changed him according to my mother, but he was still a good dad.
Navy bombers fly over Miami
When WWII came to the east coast of Florida, it wasn’t in the form of grainy newsreel footage – instead, smoke and flames polluted the sea and filled the horizon. Beaches were strewn with oil, boat parts and drowned and charred bodies. The residents watched and wondered if the German U-boats would turn toward them. And then later in the war, see the German POWs working in the sugar fields not far from unnerved homemakers.
In the first weeks after Pearl, the enemy subs began their deadly missions. A US Navy report read: “Nowhere else in the world could Germany find such a concentration of ships in such a small area.” Within 4 months, 24 ships, 16 from Cape Canaveral to Boca Raton, were sunk, sometimes hours apart.
The number of military bases jumped from 8 to 172, seemingly overnight. Hotels and other facilities were…
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quirkywritingcorner 
Thank you. This is only a brief article of the history many know nothing about.
Being born in 1948, there was still a lot of talk about the war. My dad didn’t talk much about his experiences, but it seemed everyone else had something to say. As young as I was I listened, but didn’t pay that much attention. Now, I wish I had.
I also regret not asking for more answers. But I could see what it took out my dad to say what he did. [I could be quite the pest]
I think most kids are pests–but in a nice way. They have an almost insatiable curiosity to know about everything except how to empty the dishwasher, pick up their clothes, and do their homework.