The saga of Veteran’s Village began in February 1946 when a Miami American Legion Post tried to address the housing shortage for military families by re-opening World War II buildings on Miami Army air field, today Miami International Airport. For $20 a month, families got wooden huts, 16 feet by 16 feet, with no running water or cooking facilities. Latrines could be 100 yards away. When newspapers complained about conditions, the Legion tried to shut the village but there was nowhere for veterans to go. Holdouts were evicted into the streets, where they lived for days until space was found in Miami Springs town hall, private homes and, ultimately, a migrant labor camp in Homestead. By October 1947, Veterans Village was empty.
8/21/1947: The Godek family has no plans about where to move when eviction papers are served on tenants of Veterans Village, probably today. The wife and five children of John Godek, employee of a trucking company, are shown in their one-room hutment. With Mrs. Ethel Godek are her nine-month-old daughter, Arlene, and left to right, Gail, 5; Diane, 4; Philip, 10; and John Jr., 6. (This photograph was published August 22, 1947. Note that the writing on back of the print gave Arlene's age as 6 months and spelled Phillip with two L's.)
8/21/1947, Miami Herald Staff: The Godek family has no plans about where to move when eviction papers are served on tenants of Veterans Village, probably today. The wife and five children of John Godek, employee of a trucking company, are shown in their one-room hutment. With Mrs. Ethel Godek are her nine-month-old daughter, Arlene, and left to right, Gail, 5; Diane, 4; Philip, 10; and John Jr., 6. (This photograph was published August 22, 1947. Note that the writing on back of the print gave Arlene's age as 6 months and spelled Phillip with two L's.)
