Danish West Indies becomes
Virgin Islands of the United States
In 1917, the U.S. not only purchased the Danish West Indies, but it went to war. This meant deploying American forces in the territory along with the equipment of war.
Photos from the National Archives detail some of the challenges met by American forces on
St. Thomas, deploying a cannon to overlook Magens Bay.
Subsequent military activity in the territory included the establishment of the training facilities for the Navy’s famous Frogmen (Underwater Demolition Team, UDT, see link here)