A Short History of White Sands National Monument. Beginning in 1942, only months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order #9029, which created the 1,243,000 acre Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range. Follwing the order, soldiers were even allowed to practice tank maneuvers inside the monument's boundary. By 1945 the military had begun to test missiles and ask for the first park closures, a practice that continues today. The Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range (Alamagordo Army Air Base) closed at the end of World War II and re-opened in 1958 as Holloman Air Froce Base. The White Sands Proving Ground was established in 1945 and was later renamed White Sands Missle Range. Both military areas still operate around the park boundaries and in the cooperative use area in the western part of the park. This cooperation mutually benefits both the military by providing them additional space and the park by insuring the lack of development on the surrounding lands.