Work of Location and Repatriation

Us Dead In The Pacific

From a Special Correspondent

YANKS remaining out here in the South-west Pacific are down to a min imum nowadays. At Finschhafen there are two separate groups. One of about 24 members is looking after the Cemeteries and a like number of Air Force men are cleaning up equipment left behind.

The simplest method to do that was to just burn the warehouses, supplies and all. For two nights the sky in the vicinity of the drome was lit up like the afterglow of a successful air raid.

Near the old Kamloa village area, on the north side of the Bumi River, are the American Cemeteries—where, in a last silent formation represented by regi ments of white crosses ten thousand strong, are the men who went ashore fighting for a peace that we cannot ap preciate in that we still live in fear of another war'. Here are men of our Armed Forces who gave their lives in battle in the Northern Solomons, Bou gainville, New Britain, the Admiralties and all of New Guinea.

These US Armed Forces Cemeteries at Finschhafen represent one-fourth of our World War II Pacific fatalities. At pre sent five cemeteries constitute this tem porary national cemetery Cemetery One, the original Finschhafen Cemetery; and Cemeteries Two, Three, Four and Five, representing the consolidation of all USAF Cemeteries in the South-west Pacific.

Another temporary Cemetery for the South Pacific is at Guadalcanal.

THERE remains another job to be done before the silent ranks of this army are complete—that of recovering the men who fell and were buried in the field throughout these jungle islands— buried where they fell, if possible, or left in an isolated location, due to over whelming enemy action at the time.

Many Air Force personnel lost their lives through enemy action or operational dif ficulties, and crashed in remote moun tainous terrain, at which time recovery could not be accomplished due to lack of personnel or the fact that the crash occurred in enemy-occupied territory.

Many of these airmen have already been found and have been buried by Christian natives.

This work is now being done in con junction with the Australian War Graves Headquarters, Rabaul, and the Royal Australian Air Force Search Party, Six months to a year will elapse before this search work can be fully accomplished.

The locations of many crashed aircraft have been reported by missionaries, natives and district officers. Due to no witnesses being present in many instances, these reports are greatly appreciated.

To date there have been no plans made as to the repatriation date for Fin schafen Cemetery.

Among the passengers on the SS “Alagna” which left Brisbane for Rabaul, on September 13, were Mr. Frank Conroy, planter, and Mr. W. H. Parer, engineer.