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The Village of Palmetto Bay conducted an Active Adults trip to the Miami Military Museum in south Miami-Dade County on Thursday, Feb. 24.
The excursion for 17 adults 55 and over went via the i-Bus from Perrine Community House at 900 Perrine Ave. to the museum, located at 12460 SW 152 St.
Village Councilmember Marsha Matson attended and said they enjoyed the tour.
“Some of the residents who went are veterans,” Councilmember Matson said. “There is a particular focus at the museum but they cover all of the wars and skirmishes and their connection to South Florida and people who live in Miami. It’s just an excellent museum.”
She says that she visited it before with some members of her family who are veterans and they enjoyed it.
“It was fantastic then, and it’s even better now,” Matson said. “They have more exhibits and a small theater in which they showed a great video. They have more contributions from individuals who have been involved. I really like it so much.”
The museum structure was built during WWII as headquarters for Naval Air Station Richmond, which had three hangars large enough to accommodate dirigibles, but was used for blimps that searched for Nazi U-boats threatening Florida shores.
During the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was CIA Station JM-WAVE, headquarters for Freedom Fighters of the anti-Castro Cuban exile community. It was the site of the U.S. Army Reserve Center during the Vietnam War, and from 1985 to 1992, the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Center was there. The Marine Anti-Tank TOW Missile Company went from there to fight in Desert Storm. In 2018 restoration work on the building began.
Thomas Gammon, a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel, currently serves as the Educational Specialist for the museum. He conducted the tour of the exhibits and coordinated the trip with Saylin Paez, Village Events & Programs supervisor.
“From everything I could tell, they were very much impressed with what they heard and what they saw,” Lt. Col. Gammon said. “We started off by giving them a presentation on airpower and the museum, and then gave them a tour of the building. They were able to visit the World War II gallery, the Vietnam gallery, the Desert Storm gallery, the Korean War gallery. Each of them had their own recollections of what was going on in their lives during those particular wars. It was as much fun for us to hear from them as it was for them to hear from us. Many people don’t know this museum exists.”
Executive director of the museum is Anthony D. Atwood, PhD, a native Miamian and a retired Navy Chief Warrant Officer 3 with a BA from the University of Miami, and an MA and Doctorate from Florida International University. Dr. Atwood focused his presentation on A State of War, Florida in WWII. The museum is something he has championed for decades, despite the difficulties.
“It’s extremely important,” Dr. Atwood said. “This project has been going on for 20 years.
They thought I was crazy for wanting to move a building and do all of this stuff, but we’re finally getting it all pretty much done.”
Near the museum is the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, Zoo Miami and several military facilities.
The Miami Military Museum collection is still being added to and has its grand opening scheduled in the fall. For information go to www.miamimilitarymuseum.org/.
