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ORIGINAL: Don Bowen

ORIGINAL: Pascal

Have you checked this? It's a reference in the US Army in WWII book titled "Strategy and Command: the First Two Years"

link: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA ... .html#fn22

Looks like a USAF monograph.

Oh Yes. I have all the "green" books. Just ain't in there.

But the monograph specifically referenced in the footnote is No. 45 on the South Pacific Air Route. It may have more info on which units specifically went to Christmas, Canton, etc....

ORIGINAL: Pascal

But the monograph specifically referenced in the footnote is No. 45 on the South Pacific Air Route. It may have more info on which units specifically went to Christmas, Canton, etc....

An interesting read but no specific unit data on the defense forces assigned. It does list the Air Corps Air Warning units: 696th Signal Aircraft Warning and Reporting Company for Christmas Island and 697th Signal Aircraft Waring and Reporting Company for Canton. Each "company" had a Distant Reporitng platoon (2 officers and 43 men) and a Plotting platoon (3 officers, 30 men).

There's some possibly interesting data available on DVD from the CDSG site, but it is order-by-mail with a very long expected delivery delay. Still hoping to find the data on line before I resort to snail mail...

ORIGINAL: Don Bowen


Here is a document on the subject. I have been working on this for several years, accumulating additional data whenever I can find it. See note 4.

Any additional data gratefully welcomed.

Re Christmas Island:

Not sure this article about the MOH dentist counts as data: http://www.cda.org/library/cda_member/p ... medal.html

Searching on the 102 Infantry led to two hits:

Company A
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... -102in.htm

During World War II, the 1st Battalion 102nd Infantry moved out as part of a task force on January 30, 1942 to the South Pacific. Company A 1st Battalion Infantry went to Christmas Island. The battalion remained on Christmas Island, and there are many stories about their fears of a Japanese invasion of the island that never came. The stories are preserved in the 102nd Infantry Museum in the New Haven Armory.

Company C
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_q ... n31170654/

On a couple of web sites I ran into some comments recorded from pilots passing through Canton that there was little visible defense as late as 1943.


Edit -- Oh well, I reread your paper and see that you already had the 1st of the 102nd at Christmas. I'll refresh my memory more carefully before my next wild goose chase on the net.