The Ponam Airfield was built by the US Navy 78th Naval Construction Battalion "Seabees" between June and August 1944.[3] As half of the work area was swamp, coral was blasted and dredged from the ocean bed and used as landfill. During the Admiralty Islands campaign, it was used as a fighter base to provide repair and overhaul facilities for carrier aircraft, as part of Manus Naval Base. The USO entertainerBob Hope stopped at Ponam Airfield in 1944 with an unscheduled show with troops from surrounding bases.[4][5]
^U.S. Navy Department (1947). Building the Navy's Bases in World War II, Volume II. History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940–1946. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 301–302. OCLC 1023942
