GOAT Islands, as a proposed logistics hub, was very much in the news last year. The debate raged on about its suitability, its size and topography, its location, and the effect it would have on the environment. Naturally, the arguments took on a political twist as partisan support was divided. All of a sudden poor Goat Islands was being moved to the top of the election platform agenda.

But of late, Goat Islands has taken a back seat, and we wonder, where have all the goats gone? Have the Chinese lost interest, or are they taking advantage of the lull in public attention to advance their plans to convert this little speck into the investment capital of Jamaica?

Has the delay in the expansion of the Panama Canal caused us to lose our sense of urgency? Remember, the Government has sounded off repeatedly about the importance of this project to the economy and to the future development of Jamaica. In fact, this is supposed to be one of the mega projects planned by the Government in this administration.

But credit must also be given to Member of Parliament Mike Henry for his visionary proposals re the positioning of Vernam Field in Clarendon as a major aviation trans-shipment hub, where vast industrial potential would be spurred on by the new highway, an airport as a catalyst for development, a train line extension from the main, and a multi-complex that would rival whatever the Chinese plan to put on Goat Islands. And this was promulgated long before we heard of the ‘discovery’ of Goat Islands.

But not so fast. Let me tell you first that I grew up close to Vernam Field, which was leased to the United States Government for a military base during World War II, 1939-45.

As a babe in arms I missed out on those exciting years of occupation by the Americans, but my elder brothers were no strangers to this friendly invasion by the US. They were eyewitnesses to the regular patrol of uniformed forces marching past our house from the railway station to the base six miles away.

If this wasn’t excitement enough for boys aged 11, 13, and 15 years, then the rumours of war, alleged sightings of enemy submarines, the military manoeuvres, and the droning of the war planes, brought World War II shockingly close to the south coast of Jamaica and into the lives of rural Jamaicans. On the social side, the nightclubs, stolen romances, and the dances and concerts provided titillating gossip for the nearby villages of Hayes, York Pen, Four Paths, May Pen, Gimme-me-Bit, Lionel Town, Milk River, Toll Gate, and the sugar plantations of Monymusk, Parnassus, Sevens, and New Yarmouth.

So don’t believe all you having been hearing about that innocent little island that sits so quietly in the Portland Bight off the south coast, within hailing distance of Old Harbour Bay.

The Vernam Field airbase and the Goat Islands navy base were in their time an enthralling and exciting part of Jamaica’s history and our link with the Great War.

Believe it or not, in 1927 the island was a hive of industrial activity as host to a thriving and prosperous salt industry. The plant and facilities had been taken over from an English company by Grace Kennedy & Company (now GraceKennedy), and it was said that a shutdown of a similar project in the Turks Islands contributed to the productivity of this venture.

The island remained in relative obscurity until World War II broke out in 1939. The USA stayed out of the fray in the early years, 1939-40, but they were concerned at the possibility that Britain might not have been able to hold out against the Germans in Europe. Consequently they began to take an urgent look at the British Caribbean for defence footholds in case Germany drew too near to the Americas. By 1940, several sites had been identified across Jamaica.

But it was not all plain sailing for the Americans, as several organisations including the Jamaica Progressive League began to assert the right of Jamaicans to make their own decisions, and to resist every effort of the USA to impose themselves on the island without proper consultation with the people.

Nevertheless, Uncle Sam had his way and an agreement was signed between England and the United States on March 27, 1941, providing for the lease of lands in Jamaica to establish United States air and naval facilities.

The sites identified were as far-flung as Vere in Clarendon (Vernam Field) for the

airbase, Cross Keys in Manchester, Old Harbour in St Catherine, Hurdley in St Thomas, Bamboo in St Ann, Airy Mountain near Negril, sections of the Hellshire Hills, and Goat Islands reserved for the naval base.

Jamaica was now being drawn closer to the war, but at the same time many were now licking their lips at the prospects of employment, income, and commercial activity. Construction of the base at Vernam Field started in May 1941 and thousands of people flooded the south Clarendon plains looking for work. The building required hundreds of American supervisors and thousands of labourers and skilled Jamaican workers. They came from every parish, engaging in dredging, bushing,

stonework, carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, furniture building, landscaping, and striking. The area became a criss-cross of trucks, cars, station wagons, pickups, donkey and mule carts coming and going all hours of the day. Bushing and clearing of trees on Goat Islands alone took some 600 men.

Businessmen in May Pen and as far away as Spanish Town and Mandeville reported increased spending on goods and services, and in housing. It was said that house rentals had dramatically multiplied from three pounds per year to twelve pounds.

The Stars and Stripes flag was raised at Goat Islands on April 4, 1941, making it the third flag to fly over Jamaican soil after the Spanish and the British.

And so it was that Fort Simmonds, as the complex at Vernam Field, was named, took on a new lease on life and was to become a hub of military preparation and social activity for the next five years.

Entertainment was a must for the soldiers so many miles away from home. On weekends they were entertained at the enlisted men’s club by the likes of Redever Cooke and his Rhythm Aces, the Tropical Serenadors Orchestra, and well-known Jamaican impresario Dudley McMillan with his musical revue Hot Chocolate. The local nightclubs were not left out, as Sunrise Inn, Kenny’s Drive-Inn, Moonglow and Marl Hole around May Pen, and the Glass Bucket in Kingston were popular weekend attractions.

On one occasion the US authorities, as a protection for their men, issued a system of regulation of brothels, whereby the women who frequented these houses “have to keep ID cards and photographs and a state-of-health card which will be checked frequently”.

The Fort Simmonds Chapel was dedicated in August 1942, and one of the first international weddings took place at the St Gabriel’s Anglican Church in May Pen when Master Sergeant Cleo Travis of Oklahoma took as his bride Mary Pawsey, daughter of the Custos of Clarendon, Hon A Pawsey.

Tragedy also struck when a plane crash killed the pilot during an aerobatics exhibition at the base. And, on another occasion, 10 US army personnel were reported killed when a plane which left Fort Simmonds went missing over Jamaica’s north coast waters.

On December 28, 1949, the US flag was lowered and the Union Jack hoisted in its place, as the Fort Simmonds aerodrome and the Goat Islands naval base locked shop.

With that an interesting chapter in our history was closed. Before his death, my brother Hartley Neita had gathered a wealth of material and interesting anecdotes to be published in a book on Vernam Field. Some of the stories I have related here. Knowing his sense of humour, and of history, he would probably ask the question, what happens next? Will the Chinese flag be the next one to be raised over Goat Islands in the near future? Will the new hub be as exciting and as open to Jamaicans as its predecessor was some 75 years ago?

Watch this space for more.

Lance Neita is a public and community relations consultant. Comments to lanceneita@hotmail.com or to the Observer.