“HAPPY HUNTING”

Waikato Times, Volume 193, Issue 22190, 9 November 1943, Page 2

“HAPPY HUNTING”

AMERICAN NAVAL MEN NEW ZEALAND GRATEFUL GREAT WORK DONE (N'.Z.E.F. OWclal War Correspondent) GUADALCANAR, Nov. 6 Men of the United States Navy see more of the war than any other combatants in the Pacific zone. They are in the thick of it in every fresh invasion, sailing the ships that carry men and supplies, escorting convoys, beating off air and sea attacks, and bombarding hostile shores. Every time a boatload of assault troops lands upon a beach the men who take the brunt of it are the coxswain and boat crew, the only ones who cannot crouch below the protection of the gunwales, who must stand fully exposed as they guide their craft to a suitable landing point. When a great lumbering tank-landing ship throws its 3000 tons of metal against the beach and starts the all-day task of unloading the precious cargo the men on the decks and in the cargo run the gamut of everything the enemy can bring to bear and are relatively helpless in defence. Having launched the invasion and landed supplies the crew can rest awhile as their ships go back to the base, there to take on more men and munitions and to get back to the fighting in the quickest possible time. The success of their job is measured by the shortness of the time they are out of action. Week in and week out the strain goes on. New Zealanders’ Debt Every New Zealander now on the islands of the Treasury group knows how much he owes to the men of the United States Navy, from the convoys’ commander to the negro steward who one minute washes dishes in the heat of the galley and the next mans an anti-aircraft gun on deck. We saw a big tank-land-ing ship come on to a beach soon after the first landing. Within 10 minutes it had been bracketed by Japanese mortar bombs and then spattered with heavy shrapnel the length of its deck. Another had two big holes tom in the hull. There were casualties among the crew, but no one stopped the work of unloading. The officers directed a continual stream of bulldozers, trucks and guns to shore. The more it hailed shells the harder they worked. Only once during the day did a landing ship pull out temporarily from the beach. That was when an ammunition dump blew up less than 30 yards away and threatened to spread its explosions to the unloaded cargo aboard. Wonderful Work Done The naval construction units and other United States specialist personnel who landed with the New I Zealanders did wonderful work at Falamai. The beach was choked with coconuts for about 30 yards in to the edge of the jungle. There was neither track nor road when we landed. Half an hour later the charging bulldozers had carved out a 200 yards track, which was alive with trucks, trailers and big guns. The guns and some of the supplies were for use at points other than the landing beaches. In to the edge of the beaches steel landing craft were waiting to ship them across the harbour, and again I the United States naval crews came j into their own. They ran an unin- : terrupted ferry service all day and well into the night. Some stayed with the New Zealanders as a boat pool that is part and parcel of the Pacific amphibious operations, but the big craft and destroyers steamed off as night fell. Their job for that day was accomplished. Wherever they go they take with them the best wishes of the Dominion’s fighting soldiers, who give them “Happy hunting and a safe return.”