February - March 2002 Edition

Fair Lawn Veterans in Miami Beach   Miami Beach, FL—For the past three years, former Fair Lawn resident Dr. Judith Berson has been organizing “Sand in Our Boots: Miami Beach Veterans Reunion,” a reunion and recognition event for servicemen and women who were stationed in Miami Beach during WWII.   It all started when Berson decided to gather a few interesting facts about her South Beach hotel and ended up bringing back the soldiers who had trained on Miami Beach for the first historic reunion in 1999. Retiring after 27 years as a college administrator, Berson and her husband Steven Z. Levinson own and operate hotels, rental apartments and Planet Hollywood in Miami Beach. While researching what became “The Life and Times of a Deco Dowager,” a history of the Edison Hotel and Art Deco District, Berson learned of a group of WWII veterans in need of a headquarter hotel for a reunion. Their wish was immediately a reality. She offered discounted rooms at the Edison, arranged a welcome reception, and contacted borough officials to organize recognition events including a parade down Ocean Drive.   Although many people think of Miami Beach as a sun and fun capital, they are unaware of the important role the area played during World War II when most of the South Beach hotels and apartment buildings were taken over by the military for housing and training headquarters. Thousands of men, including matinee-idol Clark Gable, invaded Miami Beach and took over 70,000 hotel rooms in what became know as "the most beautiful boot camp in America." By the time the war ended, one-fourth of all Army Air Force officers and one-fifth of enlisted men had been trained at Miami Beach, nearly 500,000 in total. Army Infantrymen also passed through the Miami Beach Redistribution Station where they were debriefed about enemy positions in Europe and enjoyed R&R before being reassigned.      Berson is particularly drawn to the vets, as her father Dudley was one of them. After their marriage, her parents spent their honeymoon in Miami Beach “courtesy of the U.S. Army.” In fact, the hotel that served as her father’s “barracks” in May of 1943 is across the street from her newest historic hotel, the Royal Hotel South Beach.   In Berson’s words, “I could not think of a more fitting tribute to my father’s memory than for this daughter of a WWII Miami Beach Vet to help organize the return of the Veterans.” Had her father lived longer than his 46 brief years, he would be 80 this year. Dudley and Bea Berson were founders of Temple Beth Sholom and Bea continued to play an active role in the Temple and Borough of Fair Lawn until her death in 1998. Since her father died so young, it is still hard for Berson to believe that the young men who “got sand in their shoes” during that dreadful period of our nation’s history are now elderly men in their 70s and 80s. Berson is particularly proud of the incredible connections that have already resulted from the three “Sand in Our Boots” Reunions.   Several former Fair Lawn friends of Dudley and Bea had also been stationed in Miami Beach and were reunited at Reunion 2000. One was Milt Robbins, now of Delray Beach, who along with the Bersons, was a founder of Temple Beth Sholom, and another was George Harris. This year, by coincidence, Irene and Paul Friemark, now of Naples, decided to meet their daughter Susan and her husband for a mini-vacation at the Edison the same weekend as Reunion 2001. They invited Shirley and Harvey Dwoskin, now of Boynton Beach, and Ilse and Herbert Goldsmith, now of West Palm Beach, to join them at the Edison. Friemark, Dwoskin and Goldsmith are also WWII vets and appreciated participating in the patriotic dinner along with the Milt and Selma Robbins and the other Miami Beach vets.      Berson, who is now a member of the City’s Historic Preservation Board and on the Board of the Miami Design Preservation League, is thankful that “due to the efforts of preservationists, Miami Beach is a place where the vets can return after 50 years and have the buildings look even better than they looked in the 1940s.” Of the 300 hotels and apartment buildings used by the military, nearly 200 are still in existence. In addition to honoring the men and women who risked their lives, and memorialize those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, she is proud that “the reunions have raised the awareness of the effect of Miami Beach on the soldiers and the effect of the veterans on Miami Beach.” Berson invited youngsters to join the vets for lunch at the Edison’s Planet Hollywood. Berson said, “It was a wonderful event. The children were overwhelmed at being able to meet the vets, the vets were extremely flattered by the respect shown them by the youngsters, and when the children sang ‘I’m Proud to be an American’ for the vets, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.”     “The best part of organizing these reunions are the wonderful friends I have made and reconnected with,” states Berson, “and it is truly a labor of love for these men, who are contemporaries of my late father, truly are the greatest generation.”    Fair Lawnites reunite at Edison Hotel South Beach (l. to r.) seated: Paul and Irene Friemark, Shirley Dwoskin. Standing: Herbert and Ilse Goldsmith, Harvey Dwoskin, Judith Berson, Selma and Milt Robbins.   What Do You Think?: Send an e- mail to editor@fairlawnnews.com or post a message on the Fair Lawn News Discussion Forum.