Noumea Recalls
p. 105 · Read in the full issue
1942 Events
HE historic occasion when the Americans, under General Patch, ded at Noumea, is too often gotten, said a Noumea newspaper the 13 th anniversary of the jing, on March 12. oon after the Pearl Harbour ick (Dec. 7, 1941), Fighting nee, under General de Gaulle, lared war on Japan, and New edonia was offered as a base to Allies. The arrival of the first voy, with 40,000 American troops, ;e months later undoubtedly ;d Fiji, Australia and NZ, as well Caledonia, from the horrors Fapanese invasion. sventy ships, escorted by about 10 ships, arrived at Noumea on •ch 12, 1942. Other convoys ved within a few days, and NC ime one of the most powerful is in the Pacific theatre. tie American “occupation” ight NC a prosperity it had ;r known before and probably never know again, but few re ders of the feverish boom era ain to-day. Occasional grass vn ruins indicate the sites of j camps. le best-preserved of the Amen
can buildings is the former “Penta gon” of the US Army at Anse Vata, now the headquarters of the South Pacific Commission. Behind it stands the now-shabby church which served US servicemen of all denominations.
It is no longer used or cared for.
The huge US Navy warehouses and other installations have gone.
The American cemetery, from which the bodies were all taken home years ago, is overgrown with weeds. . . But, though sometimes forgetful, Noumea people remember March 12, 1942, with gratitude and appreciation.