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| Port Everglades and molasses tanks Florida State Archives |
By Jane Feehan
Like elsewhere throughout the nation, Fort Lauderdale was deeply affected by World War II. Many of its experiences were unique to a coastal area with a deep sea port.
The city and neighboring towns were blacked out at night; German submarines conducted operations off the coast. U.S. military bases, such as the Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station, and Foreman Field in Davie were established to train Navy pilots, including Lieutenant George H.W. Bush, 41st president of the United States.
The U.S Army set up artillery units along the coast, including at Bahia Mar and Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. Training schools were set up at hotels along the beach, rendering them no-civilian zones. Air crewmen practiced at machine-gun target areas set up near Sea Ranch Lakes.
Port Everglades was home to a U.S. Navy Section Base that chased subs and recovered torpedoes. It housed highly strategic materials, including fuel for Caribbean operations, and molasses.
Molasses was important to war efforts. It was converted into industrial alcohol to make explosives. It was stored in large tanks at the port during the Lend-Lease days for assistance to Britain and other countries 1941-1945. Port Everglades was touted in 1946 as having the largest and most modern "tank farm" in the U.S. Molassses was sold after the war to be processed into syrup for American tables. The tanks at the port remained for decades.
Though many of Fort Lauderdale’s World War II experiences were singular, its reaction to the end of the war was one the entire nation shared. The end began midnight June 5/6, 1944 as the U.S. invaded France. The conflict ended when the Japanese surrendered Sept. 2, 1945.
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Sources:
Fort Lauderdale News, March 4, 1946
Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 28, 1946
Gillis, Susan. Fort Lauderdale: The Venice of America. Charleston: Arcadia (2004).
Weidling, Philip J., Burghard, August. Checkered Sunshine. Gainesville: University of Florida Press (1966).
Tags: Fort Lauderdale in WWII, Fort Lauderdale in WW2, Fort Lauderdale history, Port Everglades history, Jane Feehan, History of Fort Lauderdale
