War Comes to Florida: Florida Goes Overseas
World War II profoundly changed Florida and Floridians. Almost a quarter million Floridians served in the armed forces. Many of them had never traveled far beyond their farms or neighborhoods and now found themselves transplanted to places they had never imagined: Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, Salerno and Omaha Beach.
Floridians distinguished themselves in the war. Remarkably, some of the war’s first and last heroes hailed from the Sunshine State. Alexander “Sandy” Nininger of Fort Lauderdale became World War II’s first serviceman to be awarded (posthumously) the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery in the Philippines. Another Floridian, Colin P. Kelly Jr. of Madison, became the war’s first great hero when he guided his badly damaged B-17 into a Japanese battleship in Manila Bay. Or at least that’s what the public thought happened. Kelly’s story stirred a public desperate for heroes. Today, Four Freedoms Park in Madison honors Kelly’s memory. On August 6, 1945, Lt. Commander Paul Tibbets climbed into his B-29 Super Fortress and led the most famous bombing mission of WWII. The mission dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Tibbets had named his B-29 bomber Enola Gay, after his mother, who lived at 1716 S.W. 12th Avenue in Miami.
The conflict had not only taken 250,000 Floridians to faraway training bases and battles, the war had brought several million servicemen, their wives, sweethearts, workers, and tourists to the Sunshine State. Most returned home after V-J Day, but the dizzying mobility remained a characteristic of post-war life in Florida.
Images
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- Members of 40-man patrol planting first American flag at Iwo Jima
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- Harry D. Kahn during his service in the European theater of WW II shown shortly after the end of the war in Brussels
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- Members of 40-man patrol planting first American flag at Iwo Jima
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- German identification sheet for James Cox of Crawfordville
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- Telegram notifying Mrs. Nora E. Cox that her son is a prisoner of war
Colin P. Kelly
Colin P. Kelly, born in Madison, Florida, was a World War II pilot who flew bombing runs against the Japanese navy in the first days after the Pearl Harbor attack. He is remembered as a war hero for sacrificing his own life to save his crew when his plane became the first American B-17 to be shot down in combat. Kelly has been called the first American hero of the Second World War.
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- Kelly family mother with her children during trip in Cuba
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- Kelly's Mother with horse and buggy
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- Portrait of Westpoint graduate and World War II hero Colin P. Kelly Jr.
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- Portrait of World War II hero Colin P. Kelly Jr.
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- Colin P. Kelly II and friend touring one of the Philippine islands
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- Japanese battleship hit by Colin P. Kelly II and his crew during World War II
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- Sympathy Telegram from Governor Spessard Holland to parents of Captain Colin P. Kelly Jr., 1941
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- Colin P. Kelly, Sr. with his secretary
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- Picture of Colin Kelly Jr. in Pharmacist Murray Comer's store
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- Press Release from Governor Spessard Holland's Office Concerning Establishment of Fund for the Son of Colin P. Kelly
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- Band playing at dedication of memorial to Colin P. Kelly, Jr.
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- Letter of thanks from Marion Wick Kelly to R.W. Simpson, Tampa Tribune
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- Presentation of certificate honoring World War II hero Colin P. Kelly, Jr.
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- Kelly family at ship-naming dedication
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- Colin P. Kelly III visiting with his Aunt Emy Kelly (Howerton)
Documents
- "Wanted-A Good Bed and a Bowl of Chili"
- A letter written by Lt. Gilbert Myers to his parents from somewhere in Africa. The letter was printed in the St. Petersburg Times.
- St. Petersburg Times July 4, 1943
- "Local Pilot, Whose Bomber Scored Hit on Jap Cargo Ship, Awarded Air Medal"
- St. Petersburg Times article describing mission that lead to local pilot, Lt. Donald R. Latham, being awarded an air medal: July 4, 1943.
- Courtesy of St. Petersburg Times July 4, 1943
