Spain studying for a law degree. Delgado was an anti-fascist who believed the Spanish Nationalists were traitors. He fought in the Battle of Madrid, but was captured and sentenced to die by firing squad on April 29, 1937. World War II Pearl Harbor of the Atlantic In 1940, when Germany attacked Great Britain, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered the construction of a protected anchorage in the Atlantic, at Ceiba, Puerto Rico, similar to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The site was meant to provide anchorage, docking, repair facilities, fuel, and supplies for 60% of the Atlantic Fleet. The naval base, which was named U.S. Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, became the largest naval installation in the world in landmass. In May 2003, after six decades of existence, the base was officially shut down by the U.S. Navy. In 1939, a survey was conducted of possible air base sites. It was determined that Punta Borinquen was the best site for a major air base. Later that year, Major Karl S. Axtater assumed command of what was to become Borinquen Army Air Field (later renamed Ramey Air Force Base). The first squadron based at Borinquen Field was the 27th Bombardment Squadron, consisting of nine Douglas B-18A Bolo medium bombers. In 1940, the air echelon of the 25th Bombardment Group (14 B-18A aircraft and two Northrop A-17 aircraft) arrived at the base from Langley Field. Throughout the war, many squadrons rotated through the airbase, which was supported by numerous antiaircraft, coastal artillery and support units. Borinquen Field was also used as a part of the ferrying route for aircraft being moved from Florida to the Middle East. Puerto Ricans in the military In October 1940, the 295th and 296th Infantry Regiments of the Puerto Rican National Guard, founded by Major General Luis R. Esteves, were called into Federal Active Service and assigned to the Puerto Rican Department in accordance with the existing War Plan Orange. There were no Puerto Rican military-related fatalities in the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, although one Puerto Rican civilian was killed. Daniel LaVerne was an amateur boxer who was working at Pearl Harbor's Red Hill underground fuel tank construction project when the Japanese attacked. He died as a result of the injuries which he received during the attack. His name is listed among the 2,338 Americans killed or mortally wounded on December 7, 1941, in the Remembrance Exhibit on the