Status Far South Pacific 1942:

Prior to the U.S entrance to WW2 (7Dec41), Japan had taken over most of Asia (China through Korea), and most of the South Pacific to Australia. Japan continued their advances throughout. After Pearl Harbor the allies importantly repelled Japan’s attack on Australia’s north edge, at the battle of Coral Sea  4-8May1942. Then there was the attempt to finish off the U.S. Navy at Midway 4-7June1942. The Japanese had significantly more power and force -planes, carriers, ships of all sorts.  The U.S. had broken their code and they held out part of the fleet away from the initial battle As they destroyed large numbers of allied planes, a Japanese commander brought planes back to refuel, re rig with bombs, to prepare for takeoff to destroy Pearl Harbor. A squadron of U.S. bombers spotted a Jap destroyer moving fast, and they followed his wake which led them to the to the Jap fleet where they saw carriers full of planes ready for takeoff within  minutes. The squadron was able to bomb and destroy 3 carriers in short order. The Japanese were not able to recover from this blow. The U.S was able to manufacture massive numbers of planes and ships and turned the tide.

New Caledonia, near Australia and New Zealand,  soon was developed to be a safe Allied military base in July and August of 1942 because it was distant from ship warfare and the land based Japanese forces (Japanese  base was N.W. at Rabual, Island of New Britain).   

Shortly after the battle of Coral Sea, allied reconnaissance planes identified Japanese airstrip sites being established in the Solomon Islands. There was an urgent need for the Navy and Air counteroffensive to start in order to eliminate these land based Japanese advances. The Guadalcanal Campaign started.  The allies also needed to establish a forward land base site for this  first counter offensive within the S Pacific Theater. 

Espiritu Santo New Hebrides had been quietly selected as the forward site of the Navy base to include bomber and fighter airfields within reach of the raging battle of Guadalcanal.  

In July42 CB’s (Construction Battalions) built the first Bomber strip at Santo with the support of an antiaircraft battalion.   On 7August42 they started the new Navy base and a second plane field at Santo.(this was the same month that Henry enlisted and joined the 25th EH in Oak Park)  In October they started 2 more airfields at Santo as a land base for battle at Guadalcanal.  At this time the Oak Park/River Forest region doctors and nurses of the 25th Evacuation Hospital were organized, training, and departing to somewhere they knew not.  By late the following  month, the 25th Evacuation Hospital was very early and the very first to join the fledgling Naval Base and Airfields at Espiritu Santo New Hebrides (29Nov42), in the first forward offensive endeavor of the S Pacific WW2 campaign.  They were dropped off at a Coconut grove enclosed in jungle to build the remote hospital. The Oak Park/River Forest area based 25th Evacuation was apparently chosen because the West Suburban Hospital staff and community of Oak Park Illinois had spent the mid year of 1942 organizing and creating the best the army had: a total fully operational, staffed, qualified, movable evacuation medical hospital. Members of the community had made preparations the year before the U.S.A entered the war!  The newly created base at Santo would later evolve to be the largest Advance Military Base in the S Pacific WW2 theater.   

By Raymond M Hamilton  Feb2025