Oh how times have changed!!!

Elmer Mueller in La Habana, Cuba (Havana) July 4 during WWII

July 4 parade in La Habana According to Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, Cuba's military was the "most cooperative and helpful of all the Caribbean states" during the war, and that its navy was "small but efficient" in its fight against German U-boats. Upon Cuba's declaration of war on the Axis powers, Batista signed an agreement with the United States that gave the latter permission to build airfields in Cuba for the protection of the Caribbean Sea lanes, and he also signed a mutual defense pact with Mexico for the defense against enemy submarines in the Gulf of Mexico. Among the new American bases were the San Antonio Air Base near San Antonio de los Baños, and the San Julián Air Base in Pinar del Rio, both of which were built in 1942 and turned over to the Cuban military after the war. The United States also supplied Cuba with modern military aircraft, which were vital for coastal defense and anti-submarine operations, and refitted the Cuban Navy with modern weapons and other equipment. During World War II, the Cuban Navy escorted hundreds of Allied ships through hostile waters, sailed nearly 400,000 miles on convoy and patrol duty, flew over 83,000 hours on convoy and patrol duty, and rescued over 200 U-boat victims from the sea, all without losing a single warship or aircraft to enemy action.