Harold Guard by Pacific War Uncensored: A War Correspondent's Unvarnished Account of the Fight Against Japan

Author:Pacific War Uncensored: A War Correspondent's Unvarnished Account of the Fight Against Japan
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Bisac Code 1: HIS027100
ISBN: 9781612000817
Publisher: Casemate Publishing
Published: 2011-10-03T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Port Moresby

Back in Townsville I was regularly getting letters from Marie, telling me how she and Pat were settling in quite well, although they were of course looking forward to the time when we could all be together again. Events in the war were now moving very rapidly, though up on the Pacific front, following the Coral Sea Battle, I think there must have been quite a sizeable withdrawal of the Japanese from parts of New Guinea. As a result all the correspondents were then moved from Townsville up to Port Moresby in New Guinea.

I shared tents with Australian and American correspondents in the Papuan jungle along with the airmen stationed there, and the conditions were pretty primitive, and very uncomfortable. Mosquitoes and all sorts of other creatures could turn up in the most unexpected places. At night the insects would make quite a noise and provide another reason for not getting a good night’s sleep, but so was the prospect of, at any time, there being an enemy attack. The airmen in the camp used to sleep with their aircraft, and drape mosquito nets from them to form tents. They were ready for action at any moment, and ate when they had time, with only lukewarm water to wash down their food. Conditions were no easier for the men when they were in the air, and having to fly for long periods at altitude. A waist gunner from Iowa, Sergeant Frank McCarthy, told me how cold it could get, and how easily arctic temperatures would penetrate his thick sheepskin lined bombing jacket despite having previously been sweltering in the tropical heat of the jungle. None of this seemed to dampen the men’s enthusiasm, though, for waging an unceasing war against the Japanese.

In such conditions I was really glad to be in the same camp with my friends Barney Darnton, Bill Kent and Tom Yarborough. One of my most constant companions was a well-built Papuan boy, who for some reason wanted to attach himself to me. I decided to christen him “Gibson,” for reasons I can’t remember, and he would address me as “Guard Sa.” Gibson was completely naked when I first met him, and so I found him a pair of bright blue trousers from somewhere to cover his dignity, causing him to become known as “Gibson of the Blue Trousers.” He proved to be very useful to me because he knew his way around the jungle area, and would travel with me in an old jeep to a lot of the air bases around Port Moresby. I think that Gibson may have been schooled within a mission, as he was very strict with me when I used to swear. “Number one topside, he come this side, and be very angry with you Sa!” Gibson would say this whenever I let an expletive slip, as we bumped our way around the rough terrain in our jeep.

It did not surprise me that Gibson had received some education from a mission, because despite the conflict there were still plenty of missions left in New Guinea.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.