Guantanamo Bay Naval Base was incorporated into the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba in 1901. The Constitution took effect in 1902, and land for a naval base at Guantanamo Bay was granted to the United States the following year. USS "Monongahela" (1862), an old warship which served as a storeship at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was totally destroyed by fire on March 17, 1908. A 4-inch gun was salvaged from her wreck and put on display at the Naval Station. Since the gun was deformed by the heat from the fire, it was nicknamed "Old Droopy". The gun was on display on Deer Point
Mail privileges of Guantanamo Bay detainees Mail privileges of Guantanamo Bay detainees There have been mixed reports of the limits on Guantanamo detainees' mail privileges. On July 23, 2002 Master Sergeant Debra A. Tart gave an interview to the "American Forces Press Service" about the detainees' mail privileges. The report asserts that the detainees were all offered an opportunity to send a postcard to their family, shortly after their arrival, telling their family where they were. Many of the detainees' families have reported they didn't learn the detainee was in Guantanamo until 2006, when the Department of Defense was forced to publish a list of all