Illustrations from the book include nurses in front of the Boca Raton Army Airfield hospital (above),
and Lt. Manny Chavez talking to his crew before a training mission in 1943 (below).
Chavez still lives in Palm Beach County.
Photos provided
By Steve Pike
For today’s younger generations, having a front-row seat to war means sitting comfortably in front of the TV. The closest thing to combat is a Call of Duty video game.
That wasn’t the case, however, for many residents of Palm Beach County during World War II.
Particularly in the coastal communities, residents saw and lived the war firsthand. They saw the burning merchant ships torpedoed by German U-boats just off the coast of Palm Beach; smelled the oil slicks; and in the early light of too many mornings, gazed upon the dead bodies that washed onto the beaches.
But for all that carnage, Palm Beach County wasn’t a shrinking violet. Just the opposite. The county’s airfields, training camps and hospitals served as key installations that helped the Allies win the defining conflict of the 20th century.
It’s all chronicled in a 126-page book, Palm Beach County During World War II. The book, which contains 208 pictures of military life and leaders from more than 70 years ago, was co-written by Susan Gillis, curator of the Boca Raton Historical Society and Museum; Debi Murray, chief curator at the Historical Society of Palm Beach County; and Richard A. Marconi, education curator at the Historical Society of Palm Beach County.
Most of the pictures in the book, published by Arcadia Publishing, are from the archives of each society and tell the stories of places such as Morrison Army Air Field (now Palm Beach International Airport) and the Boca Raton Army Air Field. The latter encompassed 5,820 acres of South Palm Beach County (some of which is now the campus of Florida Atlantic University) and served as the country’s only airborne radar training facility.
“We’re blessed to have so many personal accounts, thanks to the veterans who were our donors over the years,’’ Gillis said. “It was a life we can’t imagine today — no air conditioning, no pest control. There were even rattlesnakes.
“And there was a lot of stress on the young men who underwent the radar training. They couldn’t take notes. A lot of them were from faraway places and got tossed into new technology and were expected to learn it. It was quite challenging.’’
Morrison Army Air Field was the Air Transport Command’s aerial port of embarkation. That was the last American soil crews saw before flying to theaters of war around the world.
Closer to home, the book also tells the tale of the Civil Air Patrol’s fights with German U-boats as far north as Cape Canaveral. “Civilian pilots flying civilian planes carrying military bombs,’’ Marconi said. “That made an impact.’’
The impact today is that World War II was not fought in the vacuum of the European and Pacific theaters. It was fought — and won — virtually on every piece of soil around the U.S., including Palm Beach County. Including Morrison Army Air Field and Boca Raton Army Air Field, the county was home to 14 military installations.
“I think our generation still has an appreciation for what that generation did, but I want this to reach the younger generation,’’ said Marconi, a veteran of the U.S. Army. “I want them to know what happened here in World War II and how it impacted things nationally.’’
Not only nationally, but around the world.
A book signing and lecture will be at 7 p.m. July 22 at Town Hall, 71 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton. Books will be available for $21.99 in the gift shop. For reservations, call 395-6766, ext. 305.
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