On 18 March 1942, the Bureau of Yards and Docks (BuDocks) sent out a letter to the Judge Advocate General of the Navy (JAG), Rear Admiral Walter Browne Woodson, for the acquisition of land near Peru, Indiana, with the intention of constructing a Naval Reserve Aviation Base. The following day, the Shore Station Development Board sent a letter of recommendation to the US Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), Frank Knox, estimating the cost of the project, including land acquisition, at $7,000,000. On 21 March 1942, the Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Admiral Ernest King, concurred with BuDocks and also sent a letter to SECNAV. Secretary Knox sent a letter the same day to JAG Woodson approving the base.