LONELY OUTPOSTS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 162, 6 April 1944, Page 6

LONELY OUTPOSTS

New Zealand Troops On Mono Island

WAR HAS PASSED BY

(Official 'War Correspondent. N.Z.E.F.) TREASURIES, March 27. Five mouths ago today New Zealand troops fought their way on to the beaches of Mono and Stirling Islands, in this Treasury group, to snatch them from the Japanese, and start the ball rolling for the Bougainville battle and drives beyond. At that time they were the most advanced ground troops of the South Pacific Command. Today the war has passed them by—at any rate as far as active combat is concerned—and all they see of it is the passing of convoys in the distance, the bomber and fighter activity of the airstrip, and the busy goings and comings » of a big military advanced base. Unlike the Swedish film actress, the New Zealanders don’t “want to be alone, but fate has played its cards for the time being, and dotted round the bays of both islands, dependent lor intercommunication on a few roads’. ::nd on barge traffic, they pass the days in eamp duties, patrol work, transporting supplies, unloading cargoes, and periodic battle exercises. Between times they fashion native woods into trinkets, carve ornaments against the day of their return to their homes, build boats mid canoes, swim and catch fish—with grenades instead ol 'with fishing lines. . .. „ Many have built grass huts lor livin„ quarters and mess halls to replace the tents which have long since paid for themselves and now let rain through like so manv strainers. No one could hold that the New Zealanders—or their American neighbours ou the islands for Unit matter —live in comfort or civilization; but at least the advances made in five months have revolutionized conditions, brom the air the sight of great clearings where ■jungle once stood is evildenee of progress, as are the twining coast and mil roads of hard coral, built laboriously from hundreds of loads off benches and mts. It took three days to make oven a hurried tour of the New Zealand areas. ( One force of infantry was conducting a war by telephone’’ preparatory to exercises in the heart of Mono; another lazed in a Sunday sun; a third had half its personnel awav handling cargo from a newlyarrived ship. A score of motor mechanics struggled to keep pace with the maintenance of more than 100 trucks that rough going had shaken into s:id disrepair. Engineers. enjoying a day off from the building of roads, hammered copper nails into the framework of little boats. A.b.C. drivers kept up the supply of rations to all Allied troops on the island. The stall of a field ambulance congratulated themselves on the many empty beds in their hospital. j n Excellent Health.

The health of the troops on the Treasuries is remarkably high, far more satisfactory than anyone expected in the early days. Incidence of sickness is no higher than when the force was back in New Caledonia, and apart from isolated cases the operations performed bv the Field Surgical Unit —totalling jSI in live months —have been for minor complaints of skin eruptions and accidental injuries. In spite of a shortage in some lines, rations available throughout Jh® period have been sufficient and fairly varied. .lust now the supply of tem js not enough to maintain the issue of 311ba 1000 New Zealanders and the relatively insignificant requirement of O.i alb. a 1000 Americans: but coffee, on the basis of 201 b. a 1000 New Zealanders ami bOM. a 1000 Americans, and cocoa at 51b. and l)lb. respectively, are filling the gap. . Once every 10 days a little fresh meat comes the way of the ground troops. They don’t get much fresh butter —the equivalent of 3oz. a month —and the arrival ot refrigerated cargo has not been frequent enough to fill even the feet of refrigerating space available to lhe New Zealand supply organization on the islands. . . Five months is a long time ro eke/*nt an uninteresting island existence in a static role, but it is all a question of degree. tolerable for the present. Some day. the men who fought for and won the Treasuries will get back to the gaiety of civilization. They're waiting lor that day. JAPANESE SHELLING DEFIED Plucky N.Z. Ground Staff N.Z.E.F. Official News Service. BOUGAINVILLE. Marell 4. Three men of the .R.N.Z.A.F. ground staff worked through some of the heaviest Japanese shelling at Empress Augusta Bay in the past fortnight to complete a major repair assignment on a damaged New Zealand Ventura.. lor three days theirs was the only aircraft and they were the only servicing crews operating in the most hotly-plastered area of the bomber field. It is amazing how the Ventura survived. The whole of the area round was pock-marked by shells. Where the New Zealand plane stood the Japanese could see and aim at it from the hills. Standing at the back of the machine lhe men could see the flashes of the guns firing at them. Fifteen shells landed within a radius of 50 yards of where the men were working. and altogether some 150 must have fallen within 200 yards. Two which struck no more than 15 yards away tore nine or 10 shrapnel holes in the tailplane. fuselage, and tin. Four men from the Ventura servicing unit came to Bougainville in the first place to repair the aircraft, but Corpora! P. F. Hill, Blenheim, was recalled for other duties and the three who saw the Job through to the end were Corporal L. V. Yates, Palmerston North, L/Ac. D. Ohms, Auckland, and Ac.l E. A. Hendrickson, also of Auckland. They received help from other personnel on the island at various stages, but theirs was the main responsibility and achievement. ' AMERICAN PRAISE N.Z. Airmen In Pacific WASHINGTON, April 4. New Zealand airmen in the South Pacific are second to none. Tins is the opinion of the United States Air Command and of American pilots in the area, says Lieut.-Commander W. 11. Neff, aviation assistant in the Navy Public Relations Office, who has just returned from the war area. “Our flyers have unqualified admiration for the New Zealand aviators,’’ he said. “Top air officers unanimously praise them as fighting flyers. Bomber pilots say it always makes them feel good when New Zealand pilots accompany them. “The New Zealanders have proved exceptionally apt at picking, up pilots forced down in enemy waters.”

A spokesman at Advanced Soul It Pacific Headquarters announced a record of ■l4O air attacks launched against enemy targets in the South Pacific in March by rhe army, nary, Marine Corps, and New Zealand air forces commanded by PearAdmiral A. Fitch. The Japanese took to the air only six times with groups of .10 planes or more. Airborne Japanese planes were seen only 24 times.

The Allied strikes extended to mor? than 2000 miles and 4360 tons of bombs were, dropped in 235 attacks.

One hundred and thirty-six Japanese planes were destroyed in March, 58 in the a.ir and 78 on the ground, for the loss of 23 Allied planes.