![]() In 1941, $50 million (equivalent to $995 million in 2022) was appropriated to develop a protected anchorage in the sea area between Puerto Rico and Vieques, an area later named Roosevelt Roads by Navy Secretary Frank Knox on. President Roosevelt ordered the creation of the base in 1940. With war in the European and Pacific theatres, they saw an airbase in the Caribbean as necessary. ![]() When Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany began to invade other European countries, the US, led by then President Roosevelt, considered the idea of a naval air station in Ceiba. It took many years for the US to become convinced of the need for an air base in Ceiba. While Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth, its territorial rights belong to the US, which made it feasible for the US government to build an air base in Ceiba. This was during the World War I era, and the US could benefit from an air field in Ceiba. When he returned to the White House, he expressed a liking for the terrain where the base was to be located. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, toured Puerto Rico, visiting Ceiba. Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Maryland, Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, 1997 History The site operates today as José Aponte de la Torre Airport, a public use airport. Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, nicknamed Rosy Roads, is a former United States Navy base in the town of Ceiba, Puerto Rico.
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