U.S. Engineers, A.I.F. Work Hand-In-Glove

Northern Advocate, 14 December 1943, Page 4

U.S. Engineers, A.I.F. Work Hand-In-Glove

(Special) SYDNEY, This Day. While Australian forces have been clearing the Japanese from the liuon Gulf. New Guinea, United States’ constructional units have been working day and night to convert the area into an Allied base. Australian troops attacking in the coastal sector have been supplied by a barge fleet manned by American engineers who call themselves "the A.I.F. Navy.’’ These are two outstanding features of the close Australian-American co-operation in tire latest New Guinea campaign. High praise for United States’ constructional units in New Guinea has been given by the leader of the British military mission (Major-General Lethbridge), who said that theirs was a' class of work “for which Americans have a special genius.” His -tribute is warmly supported by Australian war correspondents, who point out that while it may lack glamour, the job of driving a bulldozer in forward operational areas represents hard continuous toil under the most unpleasant conditions. Kcccrcl Construction Soon after the A.I.F. landed near Finschhafen, on Huon Peninsula, in October, Americans began the construction of a large air strip only a few miles behind the battle line. Bulldozers cut swathes in the forest, and in an unbelievably short time a gleaming white strip had been prepared. United States army units engaged on this work had already built aerodromes on the Australian mainland and at Port Moresby and Dobadura. Working with them have been “seabees.” American naval construction men, who previously built an air strip on Kiriwina Island (120 miles north-west of Milne Bay). This job occupied just two weeks. It is estimated that the Japanese, with their pick and shovel equipment, would have taken six months. Highly Important Factor

The organised efficiency of the American engineering and construction units, with their up-to-the-minute mechanical equipment, is a highly important factor aiding the Allied forward movement in the Pacific. More direct Australian-American cooperation is that provided by United States units who ferry supplies by barge to A.I.F. troops fighting in the New Guinea forward coastal areas. Many of these Americans have fought and died alongside the Australians. Day and night their barges have travelled up and down the coast, with breaks only for loading and unloading. The American Fifth Air Force has given the closest support to the Australian troops pressing forward on the Huon Peninsula, more than keeping the skies clear of the enemy. American planes have persistently attacked Japanese troops. In isolated sectors, too, supplies have been dropped from the air with such unfailing regularity that the Australians now refer to the American aerial transport system as "the tram service.” „