Upon arrival 29Nov42, the first, early, forward site of the 25th Evac Hosp was adjacent to the evolving Allied Naval Base. It was built up significantly by the 25th Evacuation Hospital Staff starting Dec42 as bomber strip number 3 was finished. The location was NE of Luganville, Island of Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. It was up at the peninsula immediately north of Palikula Bay and bomber strip 2 and 3, on the top of the hill and overlooking Surundu Bay to the NE, and able to see the east shoreline. (see commentary on maps below)   

Below are entries from letters, Virginia Hamilton newsclips, HEH Journal and Photos, which help confirm the location of the 25th Evacuation Hospital at the Luganville site. 

HEH Journal - The first bombing since arrival:  “1-21-43 – This morning was awakened 1 am by land explosions all in succession…….Dam near hit our ammunition dump 3 miles from here….”

HEH Journal: The second bombing: “23Jan43: …second air raid….this time it was closer to us, close to the number 1 bomber strip – we being about a half mile away. The bomb shook our beds we jumped out of bed…Today Drucker and I spent some time digging a fox hole”. 

HEH wrote about a drive to Bomber strip #2 (3/15/43) to look over planes with images painted on the planes. 

Virginia Hamilton collected news articles and other items which are within the HEH Album Book.   References to two of these news articles are as follows:

Lt Col M.C. Swantz 3Jan43 letter to Oak Park newspaper describes the site of the 25th: “overlooking a small peaceful bay where the swimming is good.”  “There are also several small rivers fed by springs which make excellent fresh water bathing, except for the warm walk back to camp.” [Current aerial images show rivers just to the north of their site within the Surundu Bay valley consistent with staff references to:  “fresh water” “Rivers”  “short walk” which they used for “swimming” and “bathing”.]

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Major Glenn Whitmer traveled back to Oak Park Ill. due to family tragedy.  He wrote a letter to the local newpaper (24June1943) which includes some nice observations about the 25th site:  “a large cocoanut grove surrounded on two sides by a deep dense jungle…covers some 600 acres with trees….The site selected is the highest point in the grove, a hill giving us a view of the beautiful deep blue green bay below, hemmed in with wooded jungle and coral reefs with a wide opening in the distance looking out to sea.”  
We also see documentation of swimming in HEH photos that the 25th personnel swam or bathed in a stream with jungle surrounding.  

They traveled westward by Jeep and barge along the channel coast to the west 29Jan43: “over to the 54’s co out on the west end of the channel.”

HEH Journal entry 29Jan43 from his day jeep trip to the west defense camp and discussion of the Island: “Martin Johnson was here some few years ago & actually started his expedition from Surunda Bay one half mile from us”

Note the special “Map of airfields, major roads and bases at Luganville (Santo) on southeast Espiritu Santo circa 1942”, pacificwrecks.com: “Credit (The Lady and the President 1997)”. A photo of the map (included within this project) places the 25th EH in a location consistent with written descriptions. Note that the 25th is NE of the 122nd which came in a little later. The 25th is closer to the bay and overview. This fits with the photos which show the east shoreline of the island on the left of the photos, close to the Surundu bay. Up high on the hill and able to see the east shoreline  and consistent with their description of the views.  

? Note: A similar aviation museum diagram of the structures circa 1944 at Luganville is from a SouthPacificwwiimuseum resource doument. This one needs some clarification and there may be inconsistency here. It places the 122nd closer to Surundu Bay,.  This Aviation Museum diagram places the “25th  Evacuation Hospital Army Medial Supply (?name?)  SW of the 122nd?. This is opposite of the above studied “Lady and the President”/PacificWrecks.com  map. 

After this Army 25th Evacuation Hospital was established,  2 other hospitals were subsequently built at the Navy Base. One was an Army hospital (122nd), and the other a Navy (Base 3) hospital.  

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AIRFIELDS at Espiritu Santo Naval Base, WW2: 

Bomber Field #1  - Palikulo Bay Airfield
Bomber Field No 2 – became Santo Pekoa International Airport after the war.
Bomber Field #3 – Luganville Airfield     
Fighter Field #1  - Turtle Bay Airfield

By Raymond M Hamilton   April2024