“On every abandoned location, one will find left behind relics. This was also the case at the WWII Camp Blauwbaai site in Curacao. Next to several concrete remnants of gun mounts, ammunitions bunkers and concrete barracks floors, smaller artifacts such as old Coca Cola bottles, ketchup bottles and a small variety of utensils were quickly found. But when a larger part of the overgrown foliage was removed, old rusty carcasses of a Ford made troops transporter and parts of three Ford and Willy’s jeeps were discovered near the former motor pool”.

For many it is well known that World War II was generally fought in Europe and the Pacific. In military terms these areas were called the “European Theater” and “Pacific Theater”. It is less well known that there was also a “Caribbean Theater” that had a tactical and a defensive role and extended from Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and the French to Netherlands Antilles. In the Dutch West Indies, as the Netherlands Antilles were called at the time, American troops had occupied Curaçao and Aruba since January 1942. These troops were sent at the request of the Dutch government as part of the military cooperation between the two countries.

Curaçao and Aruba formed one of the world’s largest oil refining centers and supplied the Allied Forces for a substantial amount of fuel. Already in 1941 80% of the total stock of gasoline of the Allied Forces came from the Netherlands Antilles. The defense of the oil refineries and the storage tanks on Curaçao and  Aruba was the most important responsibility of the American troops as  they were vital to the war effort of the United States and Allied Forces.

One of the American battle stations on Curacao was built on the former plantage Blaauwbaai, which then was known as ‘Camp Blaubaai’.  Immediately after arriving at Blaauwbaai on 11 February 1942, the 213 officers and enlisted men started setting up Camp Blaubaai by building several wooden barracks and placing 4 large 155mm cannons on the highest ridge as part of the “Harbor Defense”, which covered the Willemstad Harbor entrance to the East and the Bullenbaai Tank Farm to the West.

For protection against enemy attacks and/or sabotage, the whole camp was fenced-in with several rows of barbed wire. There was a typical war-era type main-gate and a central Head Quarters. There also was a considerably large tent-camp, where the living was tough, fighting off mosquitoes and other pests as well as enduring tropical diseases.

The batteries of the US Coast Artillery at Camp Blaubaai, came into action 2 times against approaching Nazi submarines, which hastily submerged to deeper water. Through the duration of the war, the batteries at Camp Blaubaai remained a threat to the Nazi’s and were a beacon of security for the island of Curaçao.

The discovery of the old remnants was actually the beginning of a long but exciting and rewarding road towards a WWII museum on the former plantage Blaauwbaai. The Museum in fact consists of two parts; one as an Open Air Museum with the heavy concrete remnants of the former US Coast Artillery Base and one in a reconstructed wooden barracks on an original barracks floor, where all the smaller artifacts will be displayed.

The open air museum better known as ” The Barracks”-WWII Museum Curaçao will soon be accessible to the general public with benches overlooking a great part of the Blue Bay Resort and Golf course, where you can walk freely among the old WWII remnants of the former US Coast Artillery Base, Camp Blaubaai. Go to the projects page to read more about the current status and progress of the museum.

The Barracks War museum, on the former grounds of Camp Blaubaai, is a perfect location to visit for locals,  tourists and for educational purposes to relive this part of WWII history.