Vero Beach – Tuesday 30 January 2023: Vero Beach, One of Florida’s first and largest botanical gardens, McKee Jungle Gardens was famous for its lush native hammocks, a wide variety of exotic wildlife, and a spectacular collection of orchids and water lilies. The 80-acre roadside attraction that opened in 1932 was the vision of Arthur Mackie and Waldo Sexton. An early land developer and Vero Beach conservationist.
A U.S. Naval Air Station was commissioned at Vero Beach after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. McKee, who was the sole owner of McKee Jungle Gardens at the time, wanted to contribute to the war effort and worked with the Navy to make his area of dense jungle available for Navy pilots’ jungle survival training. , voluntarily closed Mackie Jungle Gardens. Vero Beach His Press of December 28, 1945 An article in his journal described this unique contribution as follows:The gardens are immense, as so many plants that were imported here in the last few years and now grow wild in the gardens would be what aviators would find if forced down in South Pacific waters. proved to be of invaluable importance and contributed greatly to the safety of these aviators in the Naval Air Service….”
Flight engineer Ed Lohman remembers going to McKee Jungle Gardens for jungle survival training. He said, “They sent us over there with water bottles and mosquito nets. Mosquitoes were infested in the town at the time. They also got water from Travelers Palms, ate the heart of Cabbage Palms, ”, possums, presumably supplemented by lizards, driving away unwanted snakes.
The 1954 McKee Jungle Gardens fire destroyed photographs and records of this important historical period, leaving oral historians to storytelling. The history was murky until last May, when Pam Cooper, a retired librarian, historian and genealogist at the Indian River County Library, recalled seeing documents about McKee’s significant contributions to the war. This document was part of a hoard of documents from the US Naval Air Station at Vero Beach that a wary citizen saw on eBay in 1999 and purchased for the library. Eighty years later, with confirmation and newfound clarity, the Mackie Botanical Gardens honors Mackie-trained pilots in the defense of our nation.
Former Secretary of Defense General James Mattis will speak at Vero Beach on Monday, February 6 as part of the Riverside Theater Distinguished Lecturer Series. When approached to host this commemorative event at the Mackie Botanical Gardens, General Mattis accepted without hesitation. “Anything that honors our military. ”
Peter Benedict, Chairman of the Mackie Botanical Gardens Board of Directors, welcomes guests and thanks the distinguished attendees of the celebration. LTjg Scott McGaw Neptune Spear Division, Commanding the US Navy Sea Cadet Corps Color Guards, Stephanie MooreHis father is Pam Cooper, the watch officer and retired librarian of the USS St. Louis, the only ship to leave Pearl Harbor on December 7, who presented documents confirming Mr. . His father left him in 1945. He was a telegraph engineer on the USS St. Louis. General James Norman Mattisa four-star general who retired from the 26th United States Marine Corpsth Secretary of Defense from 2017 to 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded troops in the Gulf War, Afghanistan War and the Iraq War.
A nameplate with the following inscription A tribute to World War II pilots heading to the South Pacific who received jungle survival training at McKee Jungle Gardens 1943 – 1945 It sits on a rock at the original entrance to McKee Jungle Gardens. Shaded by spectacular banyan trees, koi pond edges with tranquil waterfalls and surrounded by lush tropical vegetation, this recognition was created by WWII pilots to protect our nation. It’s a memory and an awareness of sacrifice, a small part of the McKee Jungle Gardens was preparing.
A dedication ceremony at the Garden Café will be followed by a reception with General Mattis. Guests invited to the dedication ceremony included the Mackie Botanical Garden Board of Directors, Mackie staff, and volunteer guides.
