U.S.S. Helvetia (SP-3096)
World War, 1914-1918
Veterans--Florida
A photograph of the USS Helvetia (SP-3096), which was a three-masted schooner or sailing vessel, as seen from her accompanying submarine USS E-2 in August 1918. The Helvetia was a tender/decoy ship, providing supplies to the tailing submarine and sailing under the disguise of a merchant ship to entice German U-boats into surfacing.<br /><br /> A notable crewmember was Phillip Kenneth Winter (1898-1945). Born on December 24, 1898, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Phillip and Mary Rose Winter, Phillip was the seventh of eight children. Sometime after 1900, the family moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where Phillip eventually found work as a messenger for a railroad company. He enlisted in the United States Navy on April 14, 1917, in Atlanta, Georgia, and first served in Norfolk, Virginia, before serving on the USS Orion in June 1917. In July 1918, Phillip transferred to the USS Helvetia (SP-3096). After the war ended, Phillip returned to Jacksonville, where he resumed work in the railroad industry and met his future wife, Mary Jeanette "Janie" Roberts. They married on August 15, 1921. Mary gave birth to their daughter, Martha Rose, on August 5, 1922. Mary passed in 1925 due to tuberculosis. Phillip remarried on July 27, 1929, to Harriett Rhynard, but they divorced in 1934. Sometime after, Phillip moved to Clearwater, Florida. In April 1942, Phillip registered for the World War II Young Man's Draft but was not called into service. He worked as a member of the barracks in the area. He passed away on December 22, 1945, two days before his forty-seventh birthday. He is buried in the Bay Pines National Cemetery at Section 11 Row 1 Site 10.<br /><br /> In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s <a href="https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/">Veterans Legacy Program Project</a>. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for K-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.
<a href="https://www.navy.mil/" target="_blank">United States Navy</a>
Digital reproduction of original black and white still photograph: NH78920, U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C.
<a href="https://www.history.navy.mil" target="_blank">Naval History and Heritage Command</a>
image/jpg
eng
Still Image
Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia
U.S.S. Lykens (SP-876/AT-56)
World War, 1914-1918
Veterans--Florida
A photograph of the USS Lykens (SP-876/AT-56), which was a 170-foot steam-powered tugboat. The photograph was taken sometime in 1917, after the ship was acquired by the United States Navy. Built in 1899, the Lykens started as a private vessel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After the Navy acquired it, the ship operated in the Atlantic, reaching as far out as Bermuda and the Azores, primarily serving as a tender/decoy ship. Tender/decoy missions involved a ship travelling with an allied submarine in order to keep the sub supplied, while also acting as bait to draw out enemy submarines.<br /><br />
A notable crewmember was the ship's commander, Leo Rosser Davis (1880-1951). Born in Tallahassee, Florida, to James and Nora Davis, Leo was the oldest of four children. On June 1, 1918, at the age of thirty-eight, Leo received a commission as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve. He reported to the Naval Auxiliary Reserve in New York on June 3, 1918. Then, on June 22, he began his service aboard the USS Lykens (SP-876/AT-56). By late July, Leo commanded the ship, which operated in the northern Atlantic, off the coast of New England. Leo continued to command the ship through the end of World War I. On April 18, 1919, he was discharged and returned to Florida. After having spent so much time at sea, Leo earned the title of a master mariner. He sailed the civilian cargo ship SS Lake Felicity, a 250-foot steam-powered ship. On at least three occasions in 1919 and 1920, he commanded this ship and sailed between New Orleans, Louisiana, various Caribbean islands, and New York. On March 20, 1951, Leo passed away in the Bay Pines Hospital after spending nearly his entire life in the St. Petersburg area. He was survived by his wife Anna, his stepson William, his brothers Claude and Herbert, and his mother Nora. Leo is buried in Bay Pines National Cemetery at Section 16, Row 6, Site 11.<br /><br />
In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s <a href="https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/">Veterans Legacy Program Project</a>. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for K-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.
<a href="https://www.navy.mil/" target="_blank">United States Navy</a>
Digital reproduction of original black and white photograph: NH102011, US Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C.
<a href="https://www.history.navy.mil" target="_blank">Naval History and Heritage Command</a>
image/jpg
eng
Still Image
Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A History of Central Florida, Episode 39: Wartime Civil Defense
Podcasts
Documentaries
World War II, 1939-1945
Civil defense--Florida
Episode 39 of A History of Central Florida Podcast: Wartime Civil Defense. RICHES Podcast Documentaries are short form narrative documentaries that explore Central Florida history and are locally produced. These podcasts can involve the participation or cooperation of local area partners. Episode 39 features a discussion of World War II-era civil defense training materials located at the Museum of Geneva History in Geneva. This podcast also includes interview with Dr. Mark Howard Long of the University of Central Florida, Central Florida local George "Speedy" Harrell, Mary Jo Martin of the Museum of Geneva History, and Dr. Gary Ross Mormino of the University of South Florida.
Clarke, Bob
Original 11-minute and 36-second podcast by Bob Clarke, 2013: RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Orlando, Florida. <a href="http://youtu.be/SlTpnIlLeA4" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/SlTpnIlLeA4</a>.
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
Long, Mark Howard
Harrell, George "Speedy"
Martin, Mary Jo
Mormino, Gary Ross
Cassanello, Robert
Gibson, Ella Hazen, Kendra
Kelley, Katie
Velásquez, Daniel
<a href="http://www.usgennet.org/usa/fl/county/seminole/Geneva/museum.htm" target="_blank"> Museum of Geneva History</a>
<a href="http://www.floridamemory.com/" target="_blank">Florida Memory Project</a>
<a href="http://www.loc.gov/" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a>
application/website
eng
Moving Image
Museum of Geneva History, Geneva, Florida