Fort De Soto Park
3500 Pinellas Bayway S.
Tierra Verde, FL
pinellascounty.org/park/05_ft_desoto.htm
The largest park within the Pinellas County system, Fort De Soto, draws more than 2.7 million visitors annually on average. This 1,136-acre historic and recreational site consists of five interconnected islands featuring pristine beaches and diverse ecosystems.
Construction on the eponymous fort’s gun batteries, Battery Laidley and Battery Bigelow, began in 1898 during the Spanish-American War and continued through 1907. During World War II, the island was used as a bombing range. Its batteries were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Battery Laidley features the last four surviving carriage-mounted 12-inch seacoast mortars in the continental U.S. The park houses a small Quartermaster Storehouse Museum (free admission) with interpretive exhibits located on Mullet Key.
Recreational activities abound including fishing, nature trail walks, kayaking, canoeing, biking, birding and camping. It also provides refuge for federally threatened loggerhead sea turtles, which nest there from April to September.
MacDill Air Force Base
9211 Marina Bay Drive
Tampa, FL
macdill.af.mil
Located eight miles south of Tampa in Hillsborough County, MacDill Air Force Base became an active military installation on April 16, 1941. During World War II, the base trained airmen to fly and operate bomber aircraft such as the B-17 “Flying Fortress” and the B-26 “Marauder.”
In 1948, MacDill became an operational base for Strategic Air Command, training bomber crews during the Cold War era. It nearly closed in the early 1960s, but its strategic location made it an invaluable asset amid tensions with Cuba. U.S Strike Command was headquartered at the base in 1961.
In 1963, MacDill became a Tactical Air Command training base, and from the Vietnam War up through the first Gulf War in 1991 it was home to F-4 “Phantoms” and the F-16 “Fighting Falcons.” Between 1979-1993, half of all F-16 pilots trained at MacDill. The late Queen Elizabeth II visited MacDill in 1991. When the last F-16s left the base in 1994, MacDill had no active-duty aircraft for the first time in history. It eventually shifted its mission to aerial fueling in 1997. The base currently houses the 6th Air Refueling Wing and the 927th Air Refueling Wing.
American Victory Ship and Museum
705 Channelside Drive
Tampa, FL
americanvictory.org
One of only four fully-operational World War II ships in the country, the SS American Victory first served in World War II and later the Korean and Vietnam wars. The vessel was scheduled to be scrapped in the late 1990s, but a volunteer-led preservation effort resulted in its conversion into a nonprofit educational museum, which opened in 2001. Visitors can tour a restored 1940s-era steamship and explore three levels of preserved history from weaponry and signaling equipment to mess halls and crew cabins. The museum offers both guided and self-guided tours of the ship.
Zephyrhills Museum of Military History
39444 South Ave.
Zephyrhills, FL
zmmh.org
The U.S. Army used this location as a training airfield for hundreds of combat pilots during World War II, including airmen preparing for the Allied invasion of Normandy that helped America win the war in Europe. After the war, the airfield was donated to the city and the old infirmary was converted into the Zephyrhills Museum of Military History. Visitors can take an educational tour featuring period weaponry, uniforms, wartime supplies and historical photographs of the 10th Fighter Squadron that trained here. The collection includes displays from the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Gulf War. Special exhibits include Women in the Military, the Attack of 9/11 and the history of the 10th Fighter Squadron of Zephyrhills.
Capt. H.B. Jeffries House
38537 5th Ave.
Zephyrhills, FL
mainstreetzephyrhills.org/historic-preservation/
Built in 1910 for city founder and Civil War veteran Capt. Howard B. Jeffries, who moved to the area from New York. Jeffries established a veteran’s retirement colony that would eventually become the City of Zephyrhills. The house has undergone a beautiful restoration and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Today, the city-owned building is leased as a restaurant (Tine & Joe’s Cafe) to drive foot traffic and commerce to downtown Zephyrhills.
War Veterans Memorial Park in St. Petersburg
9600 Bay Pines Boulevard
St. Petersburg, FL
pinellascounty.org/park/23_War_Vets.htm
Highlights include the landscaped Memorial Center featuring five plaques with official armed forces flags that commemorates each of the United States’ military branches. Since 2015, the Memorial Center has been home to a Battlefield Cross Monument honoring Pinellas County’s fallen military service members who died during the Gulf War Era. A Korean War-era four-man Army tank is also displayed at the park. Amenities include a boat ramp, nature trail, playground and shelters with grills.
Veterans Memorial Park Spring Hill
12254 Spring Hill Drive
Spring Hill, FL
hernandocounty.us/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/38/103
This 21.5-acre park located in Spring Hill includes multipurpose fields, a baseball and softball field, playground, tot lot, concession stand, restrooms, exercise trail, picnic tables and shelters. The 0.5-mile paved V.F.W. Trail was named as part of the 100th anniversary celebration of the founding, nationwide, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Additional sources: Kevin Weiss, Public Information Officer, City of Zephyrhills, https://www.macdill.af.mil/Portals/26/MacDill%20AFB%20History%202022.pdf, https://www.visitstpeteclearwater.com/article/fort-de-soto-park, https://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_ft_desoto.htm, https://www.pinellascounty.org/park/pdf/Fort_DeSoto_historic_guide.pdf, https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2022/09/09/historians-at-macdill-afb-share-story-of-queen-elizabeth-ii-s-visit-in-1991, https://baysoundings.com/legacy-archives/sum03/ship.html, https://www.americanvictory.org/, https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/in-depth-overview/macdill-afb, https://www.pinellascounty.org/park/23_War_Vets.htm, https://www.hernandocounty.us/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/38/103
By Colin McCandless.
