Suriname was a major producer of bauxite which is used to make aluminium, a vital resource for the aircraft industry.

On 1 September 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made an offer to Queen Wilhelmina, to station 3,000 soldiers in Suriname.

[2] To house the troops, land was bought from farmers near Paramaribo, and Kampement Gemenelandsweg was constructed.

[3] After World War II, the barracks were turned over to the Netherlands Armed Forces in Suriname.

[8][9] On the night of 10 to 11 March 1982, Surendre Rambocus committed a counter-coup, and captured Memre Boekoe.