Boot Camp on the Beach: Miami During World War II

When the United States entered World War II, South Florida's empty hotel rooms and year-round sunshine made it an ideal place to train soldiers quickly.

Hotels as barracks

The Army Air Forces leased hundreds of hotels in Miami Beach and Miami to house trainees. Recruits drilled on beaches, golf courses and streets, and classrooms were set up in hotel ballrooms. Officer candidate and enlisted training schools ran around the clock.

A training ground for hundreds of thousands

By the war's end, roughly half a million enlisted men and tens of thousands of officers had trained in South Florida, a massive influx for a region that was still relatively small. Navy and Coast Guard installations, blimp bases and air stations also operated in the area.

War off the coast

In 1942 German U-boats attacked merchant ships along Florida's Atlantic coast, sometimes within sight of shore. Blackouts and dimmed lights were ordered to keep ships from being silhouetted against coastal towns.

After the war

Many servicemen who had trained in Miami came back with their families after the war. Air conditioning, the GI Bill and new highways fueled a postwar boom that pushed the region's population to new heights and carried suburbs west toward the Everglades, one reason the Army Corps of Engineers' flood-control project became so important.

Some Miami Beach hotels still have plaques remembering their wartime role.

Famous trainees

Among the trainees was movie star Clark Gable, who went through Army Air Forces officer candidate school in Miami Beach in 1942. The influx of trainees introduced South Florida to people from every state, many of whom later returned to visit or live.

Women in the war effort

Women served in military units such as the Women's Army Corps, worked in defense industries and filled jobs left open by men who had gone to war. In Miami, women also staffed hospitals, canteens and volunteer organizations supporting troops.

Black servicemen and segregation

The military was segregated during World War II, and Black servicemen in Miami faced discrimination both on and off base. Their service and experiences fueled postwar demands for civil rights in Miami and across the country.

Postwar transformation

After the war, Miami's population and economy expanded rapidly. New neighborhoods spread west and north, air travel brought more tourists, and Miami Beach entered its MiMo-era resort boom. The wartime years helped turn South Florida from a seasonal resort into a year-round metropolis.