The lease , granted to Roberts in 1939 , had to be rescinded .
The War Department decided it wanted the island back for use as a bombing range by the U.S. Army Air Corps in support of air bases then being constructed in the Tampa Bay area .
The lease , granted to Roberts in 1939 , had to be rescinded because the War Department decided it wanted the island back for use as a bombing range by the U.S. Army Air Corps in support of air bases then being constructed in the Tampa Bay area .