Short Rounds

The monthly newsletter of the Scott Hosier Veterans Roundtable

Season 9, Number 8 April 2013

Manus Island: Super Sea Port

7PM, Monday, April 8, 2013 Rochester Assembly Church 4240 18th Ave NW, Rochester, MN
MANUS ISLAND

Speakers: Lowell Ter Borch and Vince Berg

Welcome!
The Scott Hosier Veterans Roundtable is pleased to present Manus Island: Super Sea Port, featuring USN veterans Lowell Ter Borch and Vince Berg. The program starts at 7PM Rochester Assembly Church, 4240 18th Ave NW, Rochester, MN. A $3 donation is requested, but students are admitted for free.

Hospital Visits for Vets

If you, or someone you know, is a veteran facing a stay in the hospital, and would enjoy having visitors, the American Red Cross can help. Volunteers would be more than happy to add a little sunshine to your day. If you would like to have a Red Cross volunteer pay a veteran a short visit while they are in the hospital, please contact Gail Vukov at (507) 287-0814.

Museum Update
The Minnesota Veterans and Emergency Services Museum continues to make progress to becoming a reality. The MVESM has contracted MK Communications, Shawnee Mission, Kansas, to conduct a feasibility study. This study is evaluating potential support by identifying museum stakeholders the people, groups, and institutions who are likely to be involved with or be impacted by the museum and its plans and projects. The study is expected to complete by May, 2013.

Manus Island
In 1944, as part of the US strategy in the Pacific, American commanders sought to locate a major naval and air base where it could help isolate the main Japanese base at Rabaul, and be capable of servicing and supplying American sea and naval aviation forces. Manus Island, in the Admiralty Islands, lay about 300 miles north of New Guinea, placing it close to the enemy line of communication between Truk and Rabaul and the supply route between Kavieng and Wewak, and was selected as the location of the new American base.. Manus Island is about 50 miles long and 15 miles wide, and is the largest island of the group. Seeadler Harbor, one of the

largest and best in the Southwest Pacific, lies within the ellipse formed by Manus, the curving shore of adjoining Los Negros, and the reef-bound islands to the north. Its protected waters are capable of accommodating a large fleet of capital ships. Los Negros, roughly crescent in shape, is separated from the muchlarger Manus by a narrow passage. The first echelon of the 4th Construction Brigade landed on Los Negros, on March 23, 1944, with the first reinforcements to the original group of 1,000 Army troops, who had landed two days earlier. Only a small beachhead then existed. Enemy resistance, which had been severe, was overcome by March 4. The Seabees' first job was to rehabilitate Momote airstrip, which had been seized on February 29, by a reconnaissance party of the First Cavalry Division. Although the airstrip was in American hands, Japanese forces still occupied the surrounding areas, and 2 officers and 100 men from the 40th Battalion were placed in the front lines to reinforce the Army unit holding the area. These Seabees remained in this advanced position for two nights, withstanding three enemy attacks. The captured airfield consisted of a 4,000-foot strip and a number of dispersal areas, none of which was in service, due to inferior construction and to bombing by American forces. The Seabees began work on March 3, the morning after landing, and continued for several days, despite constant sniping and the loss of bulldozers to other activities. The condition of the strip was such that 14,000 cubic yards had to be filled and graded before matting could be laid, as local coral material proved unsuitable as surfacing. On March 10, RAAF fighters arrived and began operations, although construction continued until June 1, 1944, when the facilities were turned over to the Army for maintenance. Completed installations consisted of an airstrip, 7,800 by 150 feet, with taxiways and hardstands for 90 fighters and 80 heavy bombers, a 17,000-barrel aviation-gasoline tank farm with fuel jetty for small tankers, bomb storage revetments, roads, operations buildings, and personnel facilities. Construction of an additional airfield at Mokerang was the

Naval receiving station, Manus Island, November 1944 major project of the 104th Battalion, which arrived on April 1. An Army engineer aviation battalion assisted throughout the operation. The original plan called for a bomber runway, 8,000 by 200 feet; a taxiway, 8,500 by 125 feet, with hardstands and service areas for 50 bombers. This project was completed as scheduled, on April 22, with the use of additional equipment from other battalions. The first landings of 307th Bomber Group planes had taken place on April 21. The original taxiway was later enlarged and two additional taxiways built. Other installations included a 30,000-barrel tank farm, quonset-hut shops, and personnel facilities. A second bomber strip of equal size, added to the plan, was built by Army engineers aided by Seabee equipment and operators. By July, the Seabees had constructed numerous other facilities in the Hyane Harbor area, including a 500-bed evacuation hospital for the Army. Waterfront construction consisted of two cargo-ship wharves, a repair pier with fixed crane, and a fuel pier, 800 feet long, to serve major ships. Facilities at the pontoon assembly depot involved a pontoon pier, four prefabricated steel buildings for warehouses, shops, and offices, structural steel factories, and a personnel camp of 40 huts with all utilities for 50 officers and 500 men. The depot could assemble 900 pontoon cells per month. An aviation supply depot was established as the central procurement, storage, and issuing agency for all such material and equipment in the Southwest Pacific area. For this activity, the 46th Battalion erected 24 steel warehouses, each 40 by 100 feet, and 83 quonset huts for administration and personnel. Facilities for an aviation repair and overhaul unit were set up, consisting of 25 steel buildings, 40 by 100 feet, for shops, a personnel camp for 1,000 men, roads, and all utilities. A naval airstrip, 5,000 by 150 feet, with hardstands, a 7,000-barrel aviation-gasoline storage farm, a parking area, warehouses, and a personnel camp were also built. The section base at Hyane

Advance base construction depot, Manus Island, 1945

Harbor was provided with facilities for small-boat repair, including a wharf, personnel camp, and shops. In April 1944, two additional locations on Los Negros were selected for development, one at Papitalai Point and one at Lombrum Point. The projects at Papitalai Point were assigned to the 58th Battalion, which arrived on April 17, 1944. The next day, survey crews were sent ashore to select a camp site. Constant heavy rainfall and the unfavorable terrain, however, made progress difficult. Quarters were finally erected on coconut-log footings at least 2 feet above the ground. The first major construction assignment was the building of a 30-foot primary road from Lombrum Point to Papitalai Point. For a drydock storage area and personnel camp, the 58th built seven 40-by-100-foot warehouses, 29 quonset huts, a mess hall, a galley, a water system, and a coconut-log, coral-fill jetty, 4 by 80 feet, the site of which required considerable fill. Heavy rains, which turned the area into a mass of mud, considerably delayed construction of a PT-boat overhaul base and personnel camp; however, it was found that coral from a nearby deposit furnished a measure of stability. Due to the lack of available access roads, a jetty had to be built entirely by hand labor. Installations upon completion consisted of seven 40-by100-foot warehouses, three quonset huts, one 30-by-50-foot wood-frame building, and a frame galley and mess hall. The major project at Papitalai, a tank farm with sufficient storage of fuel and diesel oil to supply a large base and major units of the fleet, was begun on June 23. Lack of suitable coral for surfacing again proved a handicap. Material for tank foundations had to be ferried across the harbor, and roads deteriorated to such an extent that corduroying was the only solution. However, the schedule to complete 235 tanks by August 15 was met despite the difficulties encountered, and work continued until 63 tanks were erected, each having a 10,000-barrel capacity. A two-way pumping system and a drum-filling plant completed the farm, which was split into sections, making it possible to operate from any single unit or series of units. The 11th Battalion was the first unit to land at Lombrum Point, on April 17, 1944. A permanent camp was set up and work begun on three main projects -- a seaplane repair base, a ship repair base, and a landing-craft repair base. For the landing-craft repair base, the Seabees erected six warehouses and shops, two quonset huts for administration buildings, and frame quarters and messing facilities, with all camp utilities. A 250-ton pontoon drydock was provided for docking LCT's, LSM's, and smaller landing craft. Facilities at the ship-repair base combined docking, repair, and supply services equivalent to those furnished by auxiliary ships. Docking equipment

consisted of a 100,000-ton sectional dock capable of handling battleships, a 70,000-ton sectional dock capable of handling most major ships, and an 18,000-ton steel floating dock. The seaplane base at Lombrum Point was established to furnish operational, service, and repair facilities. Installations included a 50-by-250-foot concrete seaplane ramp, one steel nose hangar with a concrete deck, an 8,000-barrel aviationgasoline tank farm, a pontoon pier for small boats, four 40-by100-foot prefabricated ships, quonset-hut shops, and camp facilities. Development of base facilities on Manus Island was initiated by the 5th Construction Regiment which landed between April 14 and 20, 1944. There was no enemy resistance, although Army patrols killed three snipers on the beachhead and captured several prisoners in the vicinity during the next ten days. For six weeks, the Seabees maintained perimeter guards at their camps.

Quonset huts, Manus Island The principal installations were made for the supply depot, which was to serve shore-based activities in the Admiralties as well as all forces afloat in the area. The Seabees erected 128 storage buildings, 50 refrigerators, each containing 6,800 cubic feet, built open-storage areas, 5 miles of access roads, an LST landing beach, and two major piers, one 800 feet and the other 500 feet long. Ultimately, the storage floor space was extended to give the equivalent of 180 storage buildings. This was accomplished by lean-to additions located along the Lorengau airstrip. A major development undertaken by the various units of the Seabees at the Manus naval base was the construction, operation, and maintenance of a water-supply system, capable of producing 4,000,000 gallons per day. Two primary systems were developed. The Lorengau system, with its source of supply the Lorengau River, produced a daily average of 2,700,000 gallons. The Lombrum system, utilizing five small streams and impounding reservoirs, produced an average of

600,000 gallons per day. In addition, 23 unit water systems in outlying areas, using portable purification units, could draw 850,000 gallons per day from shallow wells. Treatment of both primary supplies incorporated aeration, sedimentation, coagulation, filtration, and chlorination, producing a quality of water that was considered very good for all purposes. Distribution was accomplished from a gravity-flow system; however, auxiliary pumps were spotted in the lines to boost the pressure in the event of an emergency. The main reservoir of the Lorengau system had a capacity of 2,142,000 gallons, augmented with five 10,000-barrel steel tanks, one 1,000-barrel steel tank, and various wood-stave tanks at the population centers. The Lombrum system was tied in with a main 420,000gallon reservoir and wood-stave tanks. All distribution mains were steel pipe, ranging from 6 to 12 inches in diameter. Laterals and auxiliaries were from half inch to 4 inches in diameter. The administration area for the entire Admiralty base was located at the mouth of the Lorengau River. Facilities included 48 quonset huts for officers, a 2,000-man mess hall, 10 quonset huts, signal towers for base communications, all utilities, and a timber pier. On May 4, the 4th Brigade headquarters were moved from Los Negros to Manus. Original plans contemplated two separate hospitals, but these were consolidated into one 1,000-bed unit, Base Hospital 15. Facilities included 42 quonset huts, a 1,000-man mess hall, 8 wards, 5 operating rooms,

Next time....

B-29 Raid on North Korea

7PM, Monday, May 13, 2013 Rochester Assembly Church 4240 18th Ave NW, Rochester, MN

Speaker: John

Rees

Marc Carpenter
Marcel F. Carpenter, 97, died Sunday, March 17, 2013 at his residence at Charter House, Rochester. He was a speaker at the Scott Hosier WWII Roundtable in January 2006. Marc was born April 8, 1915 in Hugo, Minnesota to Agnes and William Carpenter. He married Helen P. Haedge on September 9, 1942 in St. Paul. During WWII he served as a US Navy Aviator and later in the Korean War. Marc was an entrepreneur in St. Paul and moved to Rochester in 1960. He owned various businesses and served the Rochester community in many charitable organizations for over fifty years. Marcel and Helen enjoyed golf at the Rochester Country Club, playing bridge and attending symphonies. They spent many winters at their home in Arizona. Memorials are suggested to the Minnesota Veterans and Emergency Services Museum. -Courtesy of Macken Funeral Home, MackenFuneralHome.com

storage facilities, administration, dental, and laboratory installations, and all utilities. A receiving station was also established, containing facilities for 5,000 men in 292 quonset huts, with frame galleys and mess halls. Two additional air bases were constructed on the nearby small islands. At Ponam a fighter base, to provide minor repair and overhaul facilities for carrier-based planes, together with housing facilities for pilots and crews, was completed in the summer of 1944. Installations consisted of a coral-surfaced airstrip, 5,000 by 150 feet, a 5,000-foot taxiway with a parking area, 6,000 feet square; 34 quonset huts for repair shops and operations; a 1,500-man camp; and an 8,000-barrel tank farm with sea-loading line for aviation gasoline. Fifty per cent of the work area was swamp land, requiring fill, all of it coral, blasted and dredged from the ocean bed. The 71st Battalion also set up a base for carrier planes on Pityilu Island to care for one patrol squadron, to service and repair all types of carrier-based planes, and to provide storage for 350 of these planes, with camp accommodations for 350 officers and 1,400 men. The coral-surfaced runway measured 4,500 by 300 feet, with taxiway and three parking areas. Prefabricated steel huts were erected for administration, operations, and shop use. Other facilities included a 7,000barrel aviation gasoline The eastern end of Pityilu Island was cleared, graded, and made into a fleet recreation center to accommodate 10,000 men at one time. Although little native labor was employed, native woods and coral were used in abundance. Arriving in September, the 63rd Battalion was assigned to a wide variety of work. An ammunition depot, consisting of concrete-floored storage buildings, with sorting warehouses, and quonset huts for personnel, was built, together with additional warehouses for the supply depot. Maintenance of all facilities, including roads, boats, and electrical equipment, as well as coral excavation, was also assigned to the battalion. In addition, both a concrete batching plant and a sawmill were set up and operated. On V-J Day, the 140th Battalion, the 20th and 22nd Special Battalions, CBMU's 561, 587, and 621 were still in the Admiralties. Courtesy Department of the Navy