Florida Goes to War: The Sunshine State in World War II
Florida Goes to War: The Sunshine State in World War II provides content and materials pertaining to the World War II experience in Florida. It includes resources on the military, race, economics, the role of women, pre- and post-war statistics, and oral history interviews with Florida WW II veterans.
Site users can obtain background on the WW II experience in Florida from “Guided Readings” and “Links.” The “Eve of War,” “War Comes to Florida,” and “Postwar” sections contain a mix of photographs, documents, and other primary and secondary resources pertaining to WW II and Florida. Perhaps the most robust section, “People”, includes fascinating oral history interviews with Florida WW II veterans and their memorabilia from the war, including photographs, letters, diaries, and more. The “Documentaries” section highlights some of the work created by Florida teachers during a recent seminar offered by the Florida Humanities Council. Click on any of the links above to get started.
Copyrighted materials on this site are used with permission of the copyright owner. Further use of these materials in classroom and other applications must adhere to the appropriate copyright laws.
Web concept developed from the Florida Humanities Council professional development seminar for teachers: Florida Goes to War: The Sunshine State in World War II. Creation of this website is a joint project of the Florida Humanities Council and the Florida Center for Instructional Technology at the University of South Florida, with funding generously provided by the Frank E. Duckwall Foundation.
This site would not have been possible without the generous donations of time and materials from several Tampa Bay area World War II veterans. FHC would like to thank Eugene Williams, Andrew Hines, William Emerson, Gus Stavros, William and Hazel Hough, and Evelyn Johnson for their invaluable support of this project.
A special thank you goes out to historian Gary R. Mormino of USF St. Petersburg for the intellectual construct of the teachers’ seminar and his enormous contributions to the development of the companion website. FHC also appreciates the generosity of the institutions that permitted us to place readings and images online: the University Press of Florida, the St. Petersburg Times, The Florida State Archives, and others.
This site will continue to grow as FHC receives additional materials to enhance and improve it. If you have suggestions, questions, or comments, please direct them to Monica Kile at mrk@flahum.org
