World War II changed Florida forever, perhaps more than any other state. Like everywhere else, it was the war that ended the Depression _ even more so in Florida. U-Boats sank ships right off shore; bodies and debris washed up on beaches. The state, a strategic asset for its geography and climate, became an armed camp. Its hotels turned into barracks. Hospitals, bases and airfields sprang up, increasing from eight in 1940 to 172 in 1943. The influx of soldiers led to the boom that changed Florida's population from about 2 million in 1940 to nearly 3 million a decade later. The sleepy southern locale, then ranked 27th among states, was on its way to becoming one of the nation's most important and fastest-growing states, ranked fourth by 1990. Florida never would be the same.

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