In Jan. '43 we packed up and shiped out of C.T. and went to Port Moresby, New Guinea. There were, if my memory serves me right, 6 air strips and they were designated by their distance from the town of Port Moresby. Hq. and 89th Sq. were stationed at 3 Mile Field. 8th Sq., I think was at 12 Mile Field. 13th Sq. was at 14 Mile Field and the 90th at 17 Mile Field. Port Moresby was, not too affectionately, referred to as the A__ hole of creation.

It was just as hot at midnite as at noon, and just as many mosquitos at noon as at midnite. It was at this base in early March, 1943 that we participated in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. There was a 22 ship convoy coming down from Rabaul to reenforce the garrison at Lae. The high altitude bombers had been >hitting it for a couple days with not much success. Even with the Norden> Site it was a little difficult to put a bomb down the smoke stack of a ship from 10 to 20 thousand feet. It finally got within range of our low level B-25's and A-20's and we got a break in the weather. This was the battle that was the coming out party for Pappy Gunn's modified straffers and the practice of skip-bombing. Over a two day period all 22 ships were sunk and approx. 6,000 Jap troops dumped in the drink. That for all practical purposes stoped the advance of the Japs in the S.W.P.A. and started out 2 year trek back to the Phillipines.

It was also at this base when we first got there that we started to refer to our selfs as the 13th Sq. Cement Mixers. Somebody got the bright idea that we should have concrete floors for all of the offices and the Mess Hall. Even had one for our Photo Shack. A lot of guys that were a little out of shape when we strted were in a little better shape when we finished. It proved to be an exercise in futility, because in early May, once again we packed up. This time we headed over the Owen Stanley Range and settled down at Doba Dura. This was in the Buna-Gona area which had been the scene of some pretty nasty, bloody action by the 32nd, 41st Am. Div. and I believe the 7th & 9th Aussie Div. That would prove to be a 9 months stay.

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