Henderson Field Commander

Now Tall In The

Saddle In Mexico!

/ was a subscriber to PIM until about December, 1971 at least that is the last copy / now have in my posses sion. / confess / miss the sto ries, and reports of goings-on, from the many islands of the South Pacific, a good number of which / served at or visited during World War 11.

As a US Marine Corps of ficer, / served many times in the Hawaiian Islands, both before, during and after World War //. That war took me to Johnson, Palmyra, and Phoenix Islands, American and Western Samoa, Fiji, Noumea, and Port Vila and Fspiritu Santo in the New Hebrides. / was commanding officer of Henderson Field during the fierce battle for Guadalcanal during 1942-43, was wound ed there and taken to Auck land, New Zealand, to re cuperate (the NZ people tre ated me royally). Then / serv ed as commanding officer of Marine Air Group 25 on Bougainville against the Japanese on Rabauj New Bri tain. / served on Green, Manus, Treasury, Guam, Ti nian, Saipan, Pe/e/iu, UHthi, Roi and Kwaja/ein, and in the Philippines.

In 1969 / had the thrill of revisiting many of these is lands on the good ship Thor /.

Especially, did / appreciate my revisit to Guadalcanal and my first visit to that new city of

Floniara. / had luncheon with the High Commissioner, Sir Michael Gass, at his head quarters, where / met for the first time that great Coast watcher, Dick Horton. / wanted very much to meet Major Martin Clemens, who led me and some of my men on a patrol in the Koli Point- Ao/a Bay country in 1942, but he was in Australia. The Coastwatcher Paul Mason was away at Inus Plantation on Bougainville.

It was a strange feeling to meet Dick Horton in person, a man whose voice was so familiar to me from his Coast watcher alerts that when Sir Michael asked me if / knew him, when we met in his HQ, / had to say / never saw him before in my life, but when he spoke, / said: 'Yes, / hear that voice as if it were yesterday 'Cactus from X-ray, you are going to have visitors, 20 Be ttys, 30 Zeros, Angels 15, cheerio and good luck. Out'."

They were better than any radar ever invented. / don't know what we would have done without them at Guadalcanal in 1942-43.

It was a thrilling visit in 1969. / met some of the old Guides and now their sons (made up of a band with ex cellent music). Through the courtesy of Barney T.

Whitehall / gave an interview over the local broadcasting station. A copy of the tape

was later sent me by Barney W. I saw many changes of course, and they all seemed to be on the good side.

So / am making application again as a subscriber to RIM. / am now, at 80, training horses here at my Ranchi to in Mexico.

Best regards and good luck to RIM and staff.

Brig-Gen William J. Fox,

Usmc (Ret).

San Miguel de Allende

Guanajuato,

Mexico.

Because of the gap in his subscription (now rectified) Brig-Gen Fox probably has miss ed the fact that Sir Michael Gass and Dick Horton are now hack in the UK, Martin Clemens is in Australia and Paul Mason is dead. Walter Lord will soon be publishing his definitive history of the Coastwatchers. Editor.

Tall in the saddle on his Andalusian stallion Alonzo in last year's Mexican Independence Day parade at San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.