05/14/2026
This Week in History
May 12 – 17, 2026
1846 (180 years ago) May 13 – The U.S. declared war on Mexico following multiple skirmishes in disputed territory along the Rio Grande River. After the outbreak of war, Florida was asked to provide one battalion consisting of five volunteer militia companies. Militia officers were appointed to recruit volunteers from both the enrolled and volunteer militiamen in their home territories. Three of the five companies saw service in Mexico, guarding supply depots and wagon trains. The remaining two companies served their active-duty commitment in Tampa. Of the 56 casualties, only one was killed in action; the remainder died of disease. The war, which was the first conflict the U.S. fought mainly on foreign land, lasted for over a year and nine months, ending with Mexico recognizing Texas as independent.
1910 (116 years ago) May 16 - 20 - A camp of instruction for infantry officers of the organized National Guard of Florida was held at the State Arsenal in St. Augustine.
1917 (109 years ago) May 12 - An Act of Congress authorized the Secretary of War to organize State Staffs and State Detachments. The State Administrative Staff Corps of Florida was authorized 9 officers and 26 enlisted men. Brig. Gen. Vivian Collins served as the Adjutant General of Florida.
1917 (109 years ago) May 14 - June 7 - In preparation for the war with Germany, the First Regiment of Infantry of Florida was reorganized and added 11 new companies. These were the Headquarters Company (Jacksonville), Supply Company (St. Augustine), Co B (Tallahassee), Co C (Lake City), Co E (Live Oak), Co G (Marianna), Co I (Pensacola), Co K (Milton), Co L (Apalachicola), Co M (Millville), and Machine Gun Company (Jacksonville). At Camp Wheeler, Georgia, the First Regiment was disbanded; individuals served in the organization of new units of infantry, machine gun, and field artillery battalions.
1951 (75 years ago) May 12 - 1st Lt. Lewis G. “Bud” Haefele, aged 33, a pilot with the 159th Fighter Bomber Squadron assigned to the 36th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter Bomber Group, was posted missing in action, later as killed in action, during a mission against enemy targets in North Korea. While on a combat mission, his aircraft, an F-80C Shooting Star fighter-interceptor, received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, crash landed near Sogu-ri, North Korea and exploded. He earned a Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals at the time of his death. Lewis Haefele was a veteran of the Army Air Corps serving in 1942 as an instructor pilot for the remainder of the war. He joined the 159th in June 1948 and was mobilized with them for Korean War service in 1950. Haefele was awarded the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
1951 (75 years ago) May 15 - Florida’s Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 227th Antiaircraft Artillery Group of Jacksonville was mobilized and ordered into active federal service for the Korean War. The unit was recognized for Meritorious Service by Headquarters, 8th U.S. Army, Korea, for its service during the period 22 March 1952 to 30 April 1953. Descended from a coastal artillery company organized in Jacksonville in 1921, the 227th AAAG was withdrawn from Florida's allotment in 1968.
1980 (46 years ago) May 17 - 27 - Civil unrest in the Liberty City area of Miami led to the mobilization of 3,979 officers and enlisted personnel of the Florida National Guard to assist civil authorities. During the riots, sniping, firebombing, and looting were widespread resulting in the deaths of 19 individuals.
1985 (41 years ago) May 17 - Following a long drought, forest fires spread across Volusia, Flagler, Lake, Collier and Madison Counties in May and early June 1985. A total of fifty officers and two hundred thirty-six soldiers mobilized for two distinct periods to assist civil authorities to control the fires. Soldiers patrolled burned out areas between St. Augustine and Cape Canaveral in order to prevent looting and also provided bulldozers and other heavy equipment to firefighters. The fired destroyed nearly 250 homes and required Soldiers to remain on duty until the 24th of May. The second mobilization required assistance in Madison County for the period of June 7-14.
2020 (6 years ago) - The Florida National Guard continued to support State of Florida COVID-19 response and mitigation activities. By the end of the week of May 9 - 15, 2020, 2,412 Florida Guardsmen were on active duty in support of the State's COVID response. Operating from 22 Community Based Testing Sites (CBTS), Florida Guardsmen collected 153,022 samples. Florida Soldiers and Airmen also supported airport screening operations in seven Florida airports. In central Florida, the Florida National Guard manned the State Logistics Readiness Center to ensure that supplies arrived intact and on time. At the State Emergency Operations Center, Florida Guardsmen served as liaisons to ensure that missions for local emergency managers were fulfilled. On 13 May 2020, two F-15s from the Florida National Guard's 125th Fighter Wing flew over the city of Orlando as a salute to healthcare workers and first responders who had served on the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. By 15 May 2020, Florida reported 43,210 cases and 1,917 deaths from COVID-19.
