Many women served at the BRAAF base in the Women’s Army Corps as nurses. But their lives could be
pretty uncomfortable. Rattlesnakes infested the airfields, and alligators ventured out of nearby canals.
Although there were 800 buildings on the BRAAF, some were poorly constructed or temporary
such as these Quonset huts. After the war, they were moved to Briny Breezes, where they were used
for a ceramics studio and woodshop.
Army pilots prepare to take up a plane so that they can train with radar at the BRAAF in 1943.
The most frequently used planes on the base were B-25s and B-17s.
Photos courtesy of the Boca Raton Historical Society
By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley
If you were alive in 1942, you may have been one of the 15,000 people stationed at the Boca Raton Army Air Field to learn about that newfangled radar.
But don’t write or speak the word; it’s forbidden. That’s just one of the security measures taken on base to protect this secret science that would greatly affect the outcome of the war, explained Susan Gillis, curator of the Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum.
The base stretched from Palmetto Park Road to just above Yamato Road and from Dixie Highway to the CSX Railroad tracks on land that today is the Boca Raton Airport and the FAU campus. In fact, if you tour the campus, you can still see a few of the old buildings.
These almost 6,000 acres of land were taken from more than 50 property owners by eminent domain. “Although they were compensated for their land, no one was happy with what they got,” Gillis said.
The base included an existing airport that was a Works Progress Administration project arranged through Clarence Geist. In 1927, he had bought what was the Cloister Inn and did extensive renovations on it before reopening the hotel as the Boca Raton Club in 1930. He wanted an airport for his members.
It is thought that because of this existing airport the Army Air Force looked favorably on Boca Raton as home to its new and only radar school in the U.S. during World War II.
“We owe Geist a lot,” said Gillis, adding that the Army took a two-year lease hold on his Boca Raton Club to use for offices, classrooms and barracks. “Those were probably the swankiest barracks in the U.S.”
However, the club’s antiques were put in storage and gilded columns were wrapped to protect them from the soldiers. “Even so, the hotel took a beating during the war,” said Gillis, who told us that the golf course was trenched and the pool used for water training.
Before the war, the over 700 residents of Boca Raton based their economy on raising green beans and tourism. But suddenly the Army base helped them thrive. Two bars in town did booming business. And rooms in local homes were rented to the wives and families of the men on base.
Although peace was declared in 1945, the Boca Raton Army Air Field continued to operate until 1947. During its tenure, about 50,000 people passed through the base. It was closed when a massive hurricane destroyed many of its 800 buildings and the facility was moved to Biloxi, Miss.
By 1949, the city agreed to buy almost 2,500 acres of the former airfield and operate a civilian airport there. They also used the land to lure the newest state university to the spot. FAU opened in 1964.
“Over the years, Boca Raton got a lot back from that base,” Gillis said.
Learn more
If you want to learn more about Boca Raton, the BRHS regularly offers Town Hall Talks at the Boca Raton History Museum, 71 N. Federal Highway.
The next talk is at 7 p.m. Jan. 21. Lee Lietzke, a Palm Beach County environmental analyst, will discuss Boca Raton’s eco-treasures.
Reservations required; call 395-6766, Ext. 101.
Admission: free for members, $5 for nonmembers.
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