ENEMY AIR RAIDS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXIII, Issue 258, 29 September 1943, Page 4

ENEMY AIR RAIDS

SLIGHT NUISANCE VALUE. (Official War Correspondent). (Rec. Noonj) GUADAIjCANAL. Japanese bomber aeroplanes gave the New Zealand troops in the Pacific their first taste of combat, very soon after the division’s arrival in the forward area. In the light of a full moon odd emissaries from Tojo’s air force held a reception for the new arrivals on several nights in the first 10 days, and though the New Zealanders suffered no damage or casualties, the boom of a few poorly directed bombs and the roar of antiaircraft gnus' sent the men in hot haste for their foxholes. It does not pay to ho curious in an air raid. Antiaircraft guns have a nasty habit of showering shrapnel over a wide area, as a few New Zealanders craning their necks in the air learned early in the piece. The whine and “plink” of bits of shrapnel are a sobering influence on the most adventurous souls. The cooks at one camp found a sizeable chunk of shell outside their open fireplace one morning. One man stopped a crack on the shoulder on his first night ashore. The jolt was the worst part of it. As a gentle introduction to realistic war the noises of Tojo’s visits were warmly appreciated. As a temporary disturber of the night s sleep they were of. some slight nuisance value. As a demonstration of Japanese fofmidability they were an unqualified failure.