U.S.A. TROOPS IN IRELAND

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 May 1942, Page 5

U.S.A. TROOPS IN IRELAND

“MOST POWERFUL ARMADA” CONVOY WELLPROTECTED LONDON, May 18. Large enough to constitute an army in itself, and accompanied by millions of pounds worth of battle equipment, the largest contingent of United States troops to cross the Atlantic has landed in Northern Ireland. A correspondent with the convoy said he was allowed to say that this was one of the 'most powerful armadas ever to embark on a military venture overseas. The troops’ equipment fanned out until the Irish countryside was heavy with the noise of 1 rumbling troop convoys, heavy tanks, fast-moving light tanks, mobile anti-tank guns, and artillery. . I The contingent consists mainly of : infantry, but its composition is so miscellaneous as to indicate the fuli filment of the recent announcement by General George Marshall, United States Army Chief of Staff, that various types of American troops would be stationed in the British Isles. The ■. contingent also included nurses of I the Harvard Medical Unit. I With the recording by the United States War Department of the arrival of the additional American troops in the British Isles, Britain has been included for the first time in the I theatres of war covered by United States communiques. “The-number is substantially larger than that of any | previous contingents, and includes i tank units,” says the communique. “There is nothing to report from other areas.” The disembarkation took several davs and there was no waving of flags and no fuss. It Was all done quietly and efficiently. When the troops were nearing the port they were shouting and cheering to the onlookers, and some of them threw oranges to a British fatigue party. One of the first men to disembark was Private M. iO’Neill, of South Dakota, who was born in Ireland. The forces were accompanied by large numbers of nurses looking smart in neat blue tunics, slacks, and caps. These were not serivice issue, but were adopted as projection against the cold Atlantic wind. United States and British warships escorted the troopships across the Atlantic and not a single ship of the convoy was lost.