Aviation in the United States Marine Corps was fairly new. It came into existence on May 22, 1912, and the first major expansion of the Marine Corps' air component, of which Puerto Rico played a major rule, came with America's entrance into World War I. On January 6, 1914, First Lieutenant Bernard L. Smith established the Marine Section of the Navy Flying School in the island municipal Culebra. As the number of Marine Aviators grew so did the avid desire to separate from Naval Aviation. By doing so, the Marine Aviation was designated as separate from the United States Naval Aviation. The Marine Corps Aviation Company in Puerto Rico consisted of 10 officers and 40 enlisted men.