By war’s end, Greater Miamians had purchased more than $300 million in war bonds, an average of about $1,000 per resident. In the war’s early going, with German submarines in nearby waters, pleasure boaters sometimes rescued American sailors from burning ships.Ĭentered around the FEC Railway tracks in downtown Miami, countywide scrap iron drives, accompanied by the mantra, “Slap the Japs with Your Scrap,” brought hundreds of contributions from residents, who scoured their homes and businesses for metal, including pots and pans, and metal toys even bumpers and fenders from their cars were scavenged for the war cause. United Service Organizations (USO) popped up seemingly everywhere, but especially in downtown Miami and on South Beach, offering a broad array of activities, including dances. The Orange Bowl festival parades, a New Year’s Eve delight for residents and visitors, continued during the conflict, but their messages changed to pro-war themes. They labored as clerks, hotel operators, milkmaids, FPL pole painters, lumberjills (sic), truck drivers, freight handlers and aircraft workers. At the same time, Greater Miami’s women flooded the workplace, many for the first time. As late as June 1944, while Allied soldiers were storming the beaches of Normandy, members of Miami Senior High School’s Class of ’44 enlisted in large numbers the day after graduation, which dovetailed with that storied invasion of Fortress Europe. This trend continued for much of the war. The day following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor found civilian enlistees swamping military recruiting offices. Greater Miami’s role in the nation’s war effort included a large, varied element of civilian support.