Officials at Camp Lejeune investigated the area in search of an existing airfield for hosting aircraft in support of amphibious operations.

On 26 April 1944, the area of land around New River and Peterfield Point, named after the original owner of the farmland that was part of the government purchase, was commissioned Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Camp Lejeune.

This delineated the airfield from Camp Lejeune, and marks its official birth as a separate Marine Corps installation.

As World War II came to an end, MCAAF Camp Lejeune was closed and reverted to caretaker status as an outlying airfield of MCAS Cherry Point.

This did not last long, however, as in 1951 the installation was reactivated and became Marine Corps Air Facility Peterfield Point, Camp Lejeune.

July 1954 marked the arrival of the first operational Marine Aircraft Group, MAG-26, which was transferred from MCAS Cherry Point.The area faced another major name change in 1968, where it was recommissioned as Marine Corps Air Station (Helicopter) New River, marking its growth from a small training area to a major operational airfield.