Thought this maybe of interest if you haven't seen it before !! Jamaica Gleaner : Pieces of the Past: Recollections of WWII Annie
As a follow along to the above - here's the "Destroyers for Bases Agreement" - 2 September 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement, 1941 Annie
Here's a bit more trivia ...... US Bases In Jamaica Vernamfield at Sandy Gully in Clarendon became a US Air Force base. It was named after American aviator First Lt. Vernam, who was cited for gallantry and credited with bringing down at least three enemy planes during World War I. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited Vernamfield on her 1944 trip. Today, Vernamfield is a popular motorcar racing location 6 Remington D Vernam* Lt 22 Sqn AEF (incl 3 balloons) * American nationals who enlisted in British and French air services, including the Lafayette Escadrille, before our nation's declaration of war in 1917. Balloons were considered legitimate "kills," oftentimes more dangerous quarry than an enemy aircraft because of their protective anti-aircraft batteries and the low-level flying involved. The son of Gaston and Adah F. (Price) Vernam, Remington Vernam served with the French Air Service before reassignment to the United States Air Service. On 30 October 1918 he was badly wounded when he was shot down behind German lines. Abandoned by his captors as they withdrew from France, he died from his wounds. ( Arverne, New York and Vernam Basin in Jamaica Bay were named in honor of Remington Vernam's grandfather, a lawyer with the same name, who actively promoted the construction of beachfront cottages in the 1880s )
