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Richard "Dick" Ira Bong was a United States Army Air Forces major and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. He was one of the most decorated American fighter pilots and the country's top flying ace in the war, credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft, all with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter. He died in California while testing a Lockheed P-80 jet fighter shortly before the war ended. Bong was posthumously inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1986 and has several commemorative monuments named in his honor around the world, including an airport, two bridges, a theater, a veterans historical center, a recreation area, a neighborhood terrace, and several avenues and streets, including the street leading to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
Maroubra Force was the name given to the ad hoc Australian infantry force that defended Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from the Japanese, and was involved in the Kokoda Track Campaign of the Pacific War, World War II. The force was established by the Allies under the codename "Maroubra", referring to the troops in the forward area, it was one of many units forming the body of the New Guinea Force, the main Allied army formation in the South West Pacific Area during 1942.
The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Territory of New Guinea on 23 January and Territory of Papua on 21 July and overran western New Guinea beginning on 29 March. During the second phase, lasting from late 1942 until the Japanese surrender, the Allies—consisting primarily of Australian forces—cleared the Japanese first from Papua, then New Guinea, and finally from the Dutch colony.
Tomitarō Horii was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. After graduating from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1911, Horii served in China before undertaking a variety of regimental appointments. Following Japan's entry into World War II, he commanded a division during the capture of Guam before commanding the Japanese force that had been given the task of capturing Port Moresby. In November 1942, in the retreat from Oivi–Gorari, Horii drowned while attempting to canoe down the Kumusi River to reach Japanese forces defending Buna–Gona. His canoe was swept out to sea and capsized.
Oro Bay is a bay in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, located 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Buna. The bay is located within the larger Dyke Ackland Bay. A port is operated by PNG Ports Corporation Limited with limited wharf facilities, located at 8°53′47″S148°29′39″E.
The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of New Guinea and the western part of the Solomon Islands. This area was defined by the Allied powers' South West Pacific Area (SWPA) command.
The '5th Division' was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the Koi (Carp) Division. The 5th Division was formed in Hiroshima in January 1871 as the Hiroshima Garrison, one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. Its personnel were drafted from Hiroshima, Yamaguchi and Shimane.
Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna–Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with an airstrip. Buna was the trailhead to the Kokoda Track leading to Kokoda.
Herman John Bottcher was an American soldier born in Germany, who was awarded the rank of captain in two different armies, the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War and the United States Army during World War II. He was awarded two U.S. Distinguished Service Crosses, the highest U.S. military decoration after the Medal of Honor, for conspicuous bravery and leadership on the field of battle during two separate actions at the Battle of Buna–Gona.
Pongani is a village on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in Dyke Ackland Bay, Oro Province.
The Kapa Kapa Trail is a steep, little-used mountain trail that stretches from the Kapa Kapa village on the south coast of Papua New Guinea, across the extremely rugged Owen Stanley Range, to the vicinity of Jaure on the north side of the Peninsula. Also known as the Kapa Kapa-Jaure Track, the trail is parallel to but 48 kilometres (30 mi) southeast of the better-known and more accessible Kokoda Track. The 84-mile-long (135 km) Kapa Kapa Track is half again as long as the 135-mile-long (217 km) Kokoda Track. At its highest elevation of 2,700 metres (8,900 ft), it is 510 metres (1,670 ft) higher than the Kokoda Track's highest point. Total ascent and descent is around 17,000 metres (56,000 ft). Because the track is very steep, difficult, and unimproved, it has been hiked by very few non-native individuals.
Operation Lilliput was the name given to a convoy operation directed by G.H.Q. Operations Instructions Number 21 of 20 October 1942 for transportation of troops, weapons, and supplies in a regular transport service between Milne Bay and Oro Bay, New Guinea between 18 December 1942 and June 1943 in order "to cover reinforcement, supply, and development of the Buna-Gona area upon its anticipated capture" by the Australian 7th Division and the United States Army's 32d Division. Within six months, the convoys, escorted by Royal Australian Navy corvettes and largely composed of Dutch KPM merchant ships, had delivered 60,000 tons of supplies and 3,802 troops from Milne Bay to Oro Bay. Corvettes provided the majority of the escort force. Losses during Imperial Japanese air attacks amounted to two merchant ships, 's Jacob and Van Heemskerk, sunk and two badly damaged while several of the corvettes also sustained damage and casualties.
The 2/16th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, serving during World War II. Attached to the 21st Brigade that was assigned to the 7th Division, the 2/16th was raised in 1940 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force from volunteers drawn mainly from the state of Western Australia. After training in Australia, the battalion was deployed to the Middle East where it undertook defensive duties along the Egyptian–Libyan border in early 1941 before taking part in the Syria–Lebanon campaign, fighting against Vichy French forces in June and July. At the conclusion of the campaign, the 2/16th remained in Lebanon, contributing to the Allied occupation force there, before returning to Australia in early 1942 following Japan's entry into the war. In August 1942, they were committed to the fighting along the Kokoda Track and then later fought around Buna and Gona. After a period of rest and reorganisation in Australia, the battalion fought around Lae and then took part in the Finisterre Range campaign in 1943–44. Its final campaign of the war came in Borneo in July 1945. At the end of the war, the 2/16th were disbanded in January 1946.
Sanananda is a village on the coast of Oro Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Senshi Sōsho, also called the Kōkan Senshi (公刊戦史), is the official military history of Imperial Japan's involvement in the Pacific War from 1937 to 1945. The task of compiling the official account of the Japanese involvement in World War II began in October 1955 with the opening of the War History Office. Its main function was to serve as educational research material for the Self-Defense Forces. The office was led by Colonel Nishiura Susumu, a senior official in the War Ministry during the war. The publisher was Asagumo Shimbunsha.
The invasion of Buna–Gona, called Operation RI by the Japanese, was a military operation by Imperial Japanese forces to occupy the Buna–Gona area in the Territory of Papua during the Pacific campaign of the Second World War. The initial landings and advance on Kokoda occurred between 21 and 27 July 1942. The Japanese invaded and occupied the location in preparation for an overland attack on Port Moresby along the Kokoda Track. The landing marked the start of the Kokoda Track campaign. The landings were not directly opposed by land forces but were engaged by elements of Maroubra Force as they advanced on Kokoda. This initially included B Company of the 39th Battalion, patrols of the Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) operating in the area and a small number of the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) that became attached to the force. The Australians were initially repulsed near Oivi but subsequently regrouped to defend Kokoda in an initial battle there from 28–29 July.
Ayatosan Maru was a 9,788 gross ton (10,930DWT) freighter that was built by Tama Shipbuilding Co., Tamano for Mitsui & Co. Ltd. launched in 1939. She had been intended to run the New York passenger and freight run, however she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and fitted out as a high-speed transport, which was completed in May 1941.
The battle of Buna–Gona was part of the New Guinea campaign in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. It followed the conclusion of the Kokoda Track campaign and lasted from 16 November 1942 until 22 January 1943. The battle was fought by Australian and United States forces against the Japanese beachheads at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. From these, the Japanese had launched an overland attack on Port Moresby. In light of developments in the Solomon Islands campaign, Japanese forces approaching Port Moresby were ordered to withdraw to and secure these bases on the northern coast. Australian forces maintained contact as the Japanese conducted a well-ordered rearguard action. The Allied objective was to eject the Japanese forces from these positions and deny them their further use. The Japanese forces were skillful, well prepared and resolute in their defence. They had developed a strong network of well-concealed defences.
The Battle of Buna–Gona was part of the New Guinea campaign in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. It followed the conclusion of the Kokoda Track campaign and lasted from 16 November 1942 until 22 January 1943. The battle was conducted by Australian and United States forces against the Japanese beachheads at Buna, Sanananda and Gona.
The 21st Independent Mixed Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Imperial Japanese Army raised during World War II. Formed in January 1941 in Osaka, Japan, the brigade consisted of a single infantry regiment and support elements. It undertook occupation duties in Indochina before being sent to Malaya and then Rabaul. In late 1942, the brigade was sent to take part in the Battle of Buna–Gona in New Guinea. It was withdrawn to Rabaul, and then Japan, in June 1943. Elements of the brigade were converted into other formations and the formation ceased to exist in July 1943.
References
- William Manchester, American Caesar , 1978, Little Brown Company, 793 pages, ISBN 0-316-54498-1
- ↑ Ramsey, Alan (13 August 2005). "Last words from God's soldiers". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ↑ "Prisoner's Base and Home Again". Pacific Wrecks. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ↑ Milner, Samuel (1957). Victory in Paupa. United States Army In World War II. Washington, DC: Center Of Military History, United States Army. p. 62. LCCN 56060004.
- ↑ McCarthy, Dudley (1959). South – West Pacific Area – First Year: Kokoda to Wau. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army. Vol. 5 (1st ed.). Canberra: Australian War Memorial. p. 442. OCLC 3134247.
