When Gary Mormino asked the crowd of about 45 in Pugh Hall Wednesday night if anyone had served in World War II, not one person raised a hand.
Mormino, a University of South Florida history professor, said the generation of World War veterans is fading.
One of the assignments his students have is to scan the obituaries every Monday for the deaths of veterans.
“It’s part of remembering and forgetting,” Mormino said.
Mormino came to UF to speak about the lasting impact of World War II on the state of Florida. He discussed the economy, the population, racism, women and the growing tourism industry during World War II.
The screen behind him showed Florida newspaper headlines, articles and photographs from the 1940s.
“On the eve of World War II, 1940, Florida was the smallest state in the American South,” Mormino said. “Today, we are a Sunbelt mega-state and the fourth largest in the union.”
The large number of military bases contributed to Florida’s expanding population, Mormino said.
“Soldiers who came from the Bronx and went to the Miami Beach base encountered palm trees and beautiful girls, and they vowed to come back to Florida one day,” Mormino said.
Many soldiers who had worked in Florida bases did return but as tourists or elderly residents.
During 1943 and 1944, UF’s football season was canceled because the male population dropped to 700.
After soldiers returned, UF was overflowing and Florida State College for Women became Florida State University.
“There was a big change in dependence on federal money,” Mormino said. “Up to that time, little federal money went to colleges.”
When the war ended and soldiers returned, they also replaced the women in factories and entered universities. The state of Florida increased its economy, population and tourism industry.
“Florida would have been a big state if not for World War II,” Mormino said, “but it’s really hard to imagine it would have taken the same direction.”
