AMERICAN NAVAL HOSPITAL

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23802, 23 November 1942, Page 4

AMERICAN NAVAL HOSPITAL

VISIT BY MR FRASER “MEN WHO FOUGHT ON GUADALCANAR ” (P.S.S.) AUCKLAND, Nov. 22. Generous praise of the valour and 1 heroism of the officers and men of the American forces was paid by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) when he visited an American naval hospital on Saturday. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Mrs Fraser and by four Auckland members of Parliament, Messrs C. R. Petrie, W. T. Anderton, A. G. Osborne, and A. S. Richards. On arrival at the hospital, the visitors were welcomed by the medical officer in command (Captain J. H. Robbins), who expressed his appreciation of the New Zealand workers who had assisted in the erection of .the hospital and who had worked alongside his own men. . ' “The New Zealanders were right with us all the time,” he said, “and with their co-operation our mission was accomplished in time. They worked long hours and overtime, and often had bad weather to work in.” When the tour was completed, Mr Fraser spoke over the sound system which connects all the hospital. He said he wanted to express his great pleasure at what he had seen. "It is an honour,” he said, “to have shaken hands with men who have fought on Guadalcanar and Tulagi, some on ships which were sunk under them. We honour the work of the Americans, which was as courageous as anything in the world.” WELL-PREPARED HOSPITALS (P.A.) AUCKLAND, November 22. A party of wounded American servicemen from the Solomon Islands now in New Zealand is receiving skilled attention in well-prepared hospitals. The American Red Cross is co-operating with the services in giving them necessary comforts, and many New Zealand organisations and private individuals are also doing all they can to entertain and help the men. It can be expected that those men who make a complete recovery will return to active service, and any who may be permanently incapacitated will be sent to the United States. Like New Zealanders who have come back from the Middle East, the Americans are unfailingly cheerful, looking forward to getting back on their feet and satisfied that they have helped to start rolling the Japanese back to Tokyo. BUILT IN 29 DAYS (Rec. 8.30 p.rn.) WASHINGTON. Nov. 21. Reference to the construction of a naval hospital in New Zealand was made by Rear-Admiral Young at a press conference held by the Secretary of the Navy (Colonel Frank Knox). Rear-Admiral Young said the hospital, which would accommodate several hundred patients, was built in 29 days. _______________