Greenland
DW →An agreement between the US and NATO is intended to defuse the Greenland crisis.
Stories on Stamps: Icy Greenland Becomes U.S. Sea and Air Base
GREENLAND, normally a colony of Denmark, came under the protection of the United States last April. The Danish minister in Washington, Henrik de Kauffman, signed an agreement placing the island under U.S. control until Nazi domination of his homeland is ended. The minister signed in behalf of his king, Christian X, pictured on Greenland's 1888 stamp above. The king is a virtual Nazi prisoner today and although the puppet government in Copenhagen later disavowed this agreement with the United States, it is believed the Danes actually heartily approved of it. Although the work of the United States Army and Navy in Greenland has been kept secret, it is certain that large land, sea and air bases have been constructed. The later acquisition of Iceland is another step to help Britain fight the vital battle of the Atlantic. Greenland is only 700 air miles from British Newfoundland and 1,650 miles from New York City. It is the largest island in the world with an area of 736,500 square miles.
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Narsarsuaq Air Base
Bluie West One, later known as Narsarsuaq Air Base and Narsarsuaq Airport, was built on a glacial moraine at what is now the village of Narsarsuaq, near the southern tip of Greenland. The first aircraft landed there in January 1942, as a link in the North Atlantic air ferry route in World War II. The base had a peak population of about 4,000 American servicemen, and it is estimated that some 10,000 aircraft landed there en route to the war in Europe and North Africa.
Wikipedia →Greenland Patrol
The Greenland Patrol was a United States Coast Guard operation during World War II. The patrol was formed to support the U.S. Army building aerodrome facilities in Greenland for ferrying aircraft to the British Isles, and to defend Greenland with special attention to preventing German operations in the northeast. The patrol escorted Allied shipping to and from Greenland, built navigation and communication facilities, and provided rescue and weather ship services.
Wikipedia →Proposed United States acquisition of Greenland
In 1946, U.S. secretary of state James F. Byrnes offered $100 million to Denmark in exchange for Greenland. Greenland is on the shortest polar route between Washington and Moscow, and about midway between the two cities.
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