Nissan Island

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Green Islands seen from space. Oval-shaped Nissan Island is clearly visible in the center.

Nissan Island (also Green Island) is the largest of the Green Islands of Papua New Guinea. It is located at 4°30′S 154°13′E / 4.5°S 154.217°E / -4.5; 154.217Coordinates: 4°30′S 154°13′E / 4.5°S 154.217°E / -4.5; 154.217, about 200 km east of Rabaul on New Britain and about 200 km northwest of Bougainville. During the Second World War an American Air Force base was constructed on the island. Richard Nixon was a supply officer on the base, and is remembered as being popular with the indigenous inhabitants. There was also a PT boat base on the island as well. The Air base had B-24 bombers and Corsairs. There were approximately 17,000 allied trops on the island at that time. Much of the indigenous population was removed to Guadacanal for about 7-9 months. After that time the front line had moved closer to Japan and the island was no longer need in the war effort. {{Citation needed|date=August 2010}

Green Island – Background

The Green Islands are eight islands, being part of two coral atolls on the north end of the Solomon Island chain, just four degrees south of the Equator. Nissan Island, commonly known as Green Island, is the largest island in the chain, and where the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, New Zealand (NZ), and Australian bases were located. One mile northwest is Pinipel Island, which is about ten miles long, and fairly narrow. The islands, now part of Papua New Guinea (PNG), are about 40 miles north of Bougainville and Buka Islands, and 500 miles northwest of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal. Rabaul (the major Japanese stronghold on New Britain Island), lies 117 miles to the west, and Port Moresby, the capital of Papua, lies 500 miles to the southwest. North of Rabaul, are the Bismark Archipelago and the Admiralty Island group, target of many Green Island aerial and naval operations during late 1944 and early 1945.

Green Island, is horse-shoe shaped with three, quarter mile wide channels (mostly shallow) from the lagoon to the sea on the northwest side, the south channel (the deepest) is about 17 feet deep. The main lagoon entrance channel south of Barahun Island is about 120 feet wide, large enough for some cargo ships to enter and unload. The average depth of the lagoon is 70 feet. Some parts of the atoll are just a few hundred feet wide. The somewhat narrow part where the two airstrips and administration buildings were is about a half mile wide. The crushed coral road around the island is about 25 miles long. Nissan Island is 6,725 acres, or about 10.5 square miles. From Nissan, one can see Ambitle Island, part of the Feni Island group, 60 kilometers (37.5 miles) to the northwest. Its extinct volcano mountain top is 280 meters above sea level. The Pokonian Plantation was on the west side, and the Tangalan Plantation on the east side. They were both commercial copra operations. The light soil on top of the coral rock and sand supports some vegetation. The soil is mainly volcanic in origin, falling on the island during periodic eruptions and explosions of volcanoes in the region. Rain forest covers much of the island. The islanders have pigs (domestic and wild), goats, and chickens. The inhabitants fish from outrigger canoes, troll for tuna and bonito, trap lobsters, and catch sea turtles. Crops and fruit include planted taro, yams, sweet potatoes, and green vegetables; harvested mangoes, plantains, breadfruit, bananas, coconuts and almonds. The climate is tropical monsoon, with the wettest seasons being from December to March, and May to October. Rainfall is 120 to 140 inches a year.

In 1884, Germany gained possession of the northeastern part of New Guinea Island, along with the adjacent islands of New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, Feni, and the Green Island group. Coconut plantations were started by the Germans, and increased significantly during the period of German control. After World War I, the German portion of New Guinea came under Australian control as the Mandated Territory of New Guinea (TNG) by a League of Nations ruling. After that, the German plantations were expropriated, and mostly sold to Australian ex-servicemen. One Mr. C. C. Jervis got control of the plantations on Nissan Island. Jervis was a plantation manager, suggesting that the plantation was owned by an absentee owner or company with other interests. Mr. Jervis also operated a radio on Australian coast watch duties at Nissan, until he was captured by the Japanese on January 23, 1942. He perished when the Montevideo Maru was sunk on July 1, 1942, en route to Japan (possibly by a U.S. submarine). Mr. F. P. Archer, was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1890, and started as foot soldier during the early part of World War I, before switching to the Australian Flying Corps for the period of 1917-1919. He became a plantation owner on James Island, Buka Passage, Territory of New Guinea (TNG), just 60-70 miles southeast of Green Island. Upon the outbreak of World War II, he signed up with the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) as Lieutenant (Lt.) F. P. Archer. It seems Lt. Archer knew Green Island well, as he was chosen to help guide the exploratory raiding party of 322 New Zealanders, including Survey Troop 4, who landed and conducted reconnaissance on Nissan Island January 30-31,1942, just prior to the main landing on February 15, 1944.

Malaria and Dengue Fever (“bone-break fever”) are endemic to Green Island, and almost all of the islands of the South Pacific. On nearby Bougainville Island, it was reported that 85 percent of the U.S. forces contracted malaria. In the theatre, the medical test for flight duty was a temperature of 102 degrees or less. In 1941-42, many Nissan villagers were ill from malaria, and were taken by boat to other islands where they could receive some treatment. The survivors were eventually returned to the inland in 1945. It is probable that most, of the 300 Japanese garrison troops there in February 1944 had malaria. Once the American presence was established, quinine tablets were distributed daily to everyone on the bases, but were largely ineffective in preventing malaria.

II. Invasion

Admiral William F. (“Bull”) Halsey, Jr. planned the invasion of Green Island for early January, 1944.

“At a conference in Port Moresby on December 20, 1943, attended by MacArthur, Kinkaid, Carney, Chamberil, and others, the South Pacific representatives proposed that the Southwest Pacific attack Manus directly while South Pacific forces captured the Green Islands, some 37 miles northwest of Buka, and there establish an airfield and PT boat base. ”

The code name for the invasion of Green Island was Square Peg, and on January 30, 1944, U.S. Navy Task Force 31, composed of four destroyers, three high speed transports and PT Boats, 176 and 178 of RON/Squadron 11, sped to the island. Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson was the commander. Additional support was provided the following week by Task Force 38, made up of four destroyers and two light cruisers, and Task Force 39, with two light cruisers and five destroyers. New Zealand (NZ) Battalion 30 and U.S. Navy personnel, about 320 men in all, landed on Green (Nissan) Island to pick out landing zones and airstrip sites, and to measure tides and water depths. They were picked up the next day. Five men were killed and ten wounded during skirmishes with the Japanese. The next day a Japanese ship was spotted and sunk.

On February 4, some troops landed at Pakonian Plantation on the Lower West side of the island for further scouting. They learned about the local installations from the plantation workers. On the day before the invasion, the cruiser USS St. Louis was damaged by a Japanese dive bomber. As the convoy neared the island, dozens of destroyers formed a circle around the landing craft to protect against air attacks. Two of eight Japanese dive bombers were shot down, and the others were driven off by an umbrella of anti-aircraft (AA) fire from the destroyers. Risk of naval attack was minimal due to the abandonment of the Rabaul navy base by the Japanese on February 10, 1944, following several days of intense air strikes by US carrier-based planes.

On February 15, 1944, the New Zealand 3rd Infantry Division, 30th Battalion, landed at the Pokonian Plantation (Beach Blue), with seven 3.7 inch howitzers from 144th Independent Battery, and 208th Battery. B Company of 30th Battery, landed at Barahun Island. Motor torpedo boats (MTB), better known as PT Boats, numbers 176, 178 (RON 11), 247 and 249 (RON 20) went after machine gun nests on the shore. Other infantry continued across the lagoon and landed at Tangalan Plantation (Beach Red – north and Beach Green – south). A Japanese air counter-attack was fought off, though a tank landing ship, LST-486, was damaged. At least 11 Japanese fighter planes were shot down. A photo of landing craft unloading trucks and bulldozers on the beach taken on the second day of the invasion was on the cover of the New York Times Magazine on April 16, 1944. On February 18, a fierce battle erupted on the southeast end of the island, ending in about 100 Japanese soldiers being killed. On February 20, a reinforcement convoy arrived. Other skirmishes occurred on Sirot Island, and on Sau Island in the Pinipel Bay. Roughly 6,000 troops were involved in the initial invasion activities, being 4,242 NZ troops and 1,564 US troops. By mid-March, 17,000 troops were working there.

On the day of the initial invasion, large diversionary air strikes of low level bombing and strafing were conducted against the big airbase at Kavieng, New Ireland, by 124 planes, escorted by 61 P-38 Lightings. Japanese AA fire downed eight US planes. Lt Nathan G. Gordon, in his PBY Catalina, repeatedly touched down offshore, and rescued a total of 15 men. He was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his rescue work.

On the morning of March 13, 1944, near the tiny village of Tanakeran on the southwest coast of the island, 60 Japanese soldiers hidden in the jungle about 150 yards from the low sea-side cliffs, opened up with sniper fire, followed by fierce mortar attack. During the day long battle, they were eventually surrounded. A number of New Zealand Army tanks blasted away at the trees, just firing in the general direction of the enemy troops. By dusk, 51 enemy troops were dead, the last one falling on his own hand grenade rather than surrendering. Several Third Division soldiers were killed and a small number were wounded .

The missionary workers on the island had fled several years before when the Japanese invaded. Shortly after Green Island was retaken, nearly 1,150 islanders were evacuated to Guadalcanal, mostly for malaria treatment. One baby was born on the voyage. Navy medical personnel also treated 200 Pinipel Island residents for various illnesses. About 350 people, mostly young male workers, remained on the island.

III. Logistical and Infrastructure Support

Members of the 93rd Construction Battalion (CB or Seabees) constructed the first short fighter plane air strip in less than three weeks. The 33rd CB Battalion arrived February 15, 1944, and worked there until mid-July. The 37th CB Battalion arrived on March 6, and remained for seven months. These battalions each included about 1,000 enlisted men, and 33 officers. The second parallel strip, one thousand feet east, was built for the bomber squadrons two weeks later, and was about 4000 feet long. The 93rd Seabees were known as ‘Commander Lynn and his band of a Thousand Thieves.’ They had plenty of everything, because they stole it from everyone else. Legend has it, that PT boat crews sometimes went to the Seabees to ask for fuel, because the Navy did not keep them adequately supplied.

A PBY tender ship, Coos Bay AVP-25, arrived to service the first PBYs, and to provide quarters for the crews while the main base was being constructed. A second tender ship, Chincoteague VP-24, replaced the first on June 16, 1944. The tender ships were about 300 feet long, had a beam of 41 feet, a draft of 13 feet, and 6000 horsepower engines, and were crewed by about 200 sailors. They were equipped with large cranes, had machine shops, and provided all necessary support for flying operations. VP-91 provided the first 3 PBYs on March 26, 1944, and 5 more on May 27. On June 15, VP-44 and PT Boat Squadron/RON 27 arrived for regular operations. A water distilling ship was anchored in the lagoon to provide fresh water until land facilities could be built. Eventually, twelve huge distiller-condensers were constructed, each producing 4,000 gallons of water per day. Large diesel generators were built, and twenty-five or more 13,000 gallon gasoline tanks were installed. Tanker trucks carried the fuel to the airstrips, and to the lagoon beach area where the PBYs were hauled out by tractors and serviced after each flight. On October 25, 1944 the 93rd Construction Battalion went to Guiuan Naval Air Station (NAS) to work for seven months. One of the Navy tanker ships delivering 100 octane gasoline to the island bases was the USS Tappahannock AO-43 . The 100 octane gasoline was used both by the aircraft and the PT boats.

Green Island was designated “South Pacific Base 7,” (Repair, Supply, Staging and Training). Following initial base construction, a specialized Patrol Aircraft Technical Support Unit (PATSU) group was brought in to manage all PBY ground administration and support operations. It was made up of 16 officers and about 150 enlisted men. Lt. Kelly was the Commanding Officer (CO). They were responsible for personnel, medical, supply logistics, communications, aircraft maintenance and munitions supply, base maintenance, food, and housing.

Supply and fuel ships would steam into the lagoon every few weeks. Fuel requirements were high. Aircraft and PT Boats used fuel at the rate of about 20,000 gallons a day and PT Boats at the rate of about 15,000 gallons per day (they both used the same 100 octane gasoline)[my father a PT Boat skipper who served on Green Island said from the fuel storage area there were two pipelines one for the air base and one for the PTs]. Supplies and munitions would be unloaded from Liberty ships onto Landing Craft Tanks (LCTs) and then ferried to the supply depot known as “The Dump,” located about one mile south of the airfields. The bomb and ammo dump was half a mile south of the supply depot, and well-hidden in the jungle. Mail, personnel, and other supplies would often come via PBYs on return trips from larger bases. On one occasion a Jeep arrived wired under a PBY wing. In 1945, the Officers Club on Green got a Steinway piano delivered by PBY, hung from a bomb rack. It was flown in from Espiratu Santo in the New Hebrides - a long flight. The ANGAU controlled an islander worker and Australian military police force of about 500 men. The Australians island administrative group of about 100 persons, had its own quarters in the village area on the North end. The villagers may have done the food preparation, cooking, and laundry, this being Australian governed territory for 25 years. That area was off limits to U.S. enlisted men. In the equatorial rainforest climate, most islanders had little need to wear more than a simple sarong about the waist, called a “lap-lap”

The main air base unit was set up north of the airstrips by the lagoon. Quonset huts (a/k/a Nissan huts) served as office and shop facilities. Most of the several camp quarters were south of the base, hidden in the plantation trees. Tents of about 20 x 20 feet with peaked roofs were the crew quarters. Buckets and barrels were placed at the tent edges to collect rainwater during the afternoon rains. For a shower, you had to bring your own water. The cook shacks had tent roofs over them. About 300 U.S. Navy personnel and 180 U.S. Marines lived in the tent village. Earlier, 6,000 Navy Seabees worked there constructing the base facilities. The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) camp with about 150 New Zealand and Australian airmen was set up north of the airfields. Another New Zealand Army base was on the southwest side of the island. The NZ 29th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery crews were there. Each battery had four troops, with each troop having three Bofors 40 mm AA guns. Tea times for His Majesty’s troops were consistently at 10 AM, and 2 PM. The Green Island airbase had a gas tank farm hidden under the trees. The tanks were about 20 feet in diameter and 10 feet high, holding about 13,000 gallons each. The total capacity was about 340,000 gallons. Total usage was approximately 35,000 gallons daily. In addition to the New Zealanders, island defenses, lookouts, and perimeter patrols, were provided by several companies of U.S. Marines. They were attached to Marine Air Group 14, previously based on Guadalcanal. Anti-aircraft batteries were on either side of the South Channel entrance and at the north and south ends of the island. These were manned by U.S. Army gun crews.

Liberty Ships brought thousands of tons of everything. The USS Cassiopeia AK 75 was the first to call, on March 6, 1944. The USS Cassiopeia made numerous trips to Green Island, right up until the end of the war. She was 441 feet long, with a beam of 57 feet, and a draft of 27 feet. The USS Cassiopeia, had a crew of 81, a speed of eleven knots, and weighed 4,000 tons dry and 11, 000 tons loaded (about 300 box car loads or 2800 Jeeps). Liberty ships could carry four LCT’s (50’) and two LCJ’s (35’), for unloading. The USS Cassiopeia was built in an amazing 45 days in late 1942 at the Todd-Kaiser Shipyard, Richmond, California. The ship’s launch name was the Melville W. Fuller, and she was renamed on delivery to U.S. Navy. She was armed with two twin .50 caliber, two 40 mm’s, six 20 mm’s; and a five inch rear deck gun. The ship was decorated for downing six Japanese Zeros, and one Betty Bomber at Leyte Gulf. Perhaps the USS Cassiopeia and its crew were most famous for the great whiskey heist of February 23, 1944, in which 94 cases of scotch labeled for delivery to Admiral Halsey – disappeared. Cargo would be loaded at big supply depots south of the Solomons and then sent north on inter-island hops. Somehow the whisky disappeared in transit, and many suspected the Cassiopeia crew.

The food staple for the men on Green was bread, one loaf per person per day. Food supplies included 100 pound bags of dry materials such as flour, sugar, rice, navy beans, potatoes, tapioca, 10 pound tins of canned butter, fruit, jams, green beans, lima beans, peas, tomatoes, shredded chicken, the ever-present SPAM, Vienna sausages, peanut butter, the much despised powdered milk and powdered eggs, ketchup, pickles, dried beef (for “chipped beef on toast”), pudding mixes, cocoa and coffee. The official monthly food allotment was 26 pounds for base personnel, and 52 pounds for sailors, meaning that a sailor could have a whole pound of SPAM per day. Fresh foods might come when a PBY spotted a refrigerator ship, or a battleship, and asked for the good stuff. The other source might be the larger bases in rear echelon, that were frequently visited. Fresh fish could be provided by the villagers, by hook and line in the lagoon. The cooks were famous for being able to do anything with fresh fish. The more primitive practice of dropping hand grenades off the dock, and netting the stunned and fragmented fish, was eventually banned.

Beer and whiskey (to help ward off malaria) usually came from Australia in 100 case lots. The standard ration of beer for enlisted men was two bottles per day. Limestone caves along the ocean shore were rumored to be special places where enlisted men with some spare time operated stills. Bags of potatoes were “borrowed” from storage, fermented and “cooked.” Apples were sometimes fermented as well. For many thousands of years prior to the war, the caves had been used by the natives as burial places. The PT boat crews simply mixed the alcohol from their torpedoes with grapefruit juice to make a potent drink affectionately nicknamed “torpedo juice. ”

Each operating unit had its own space, with a Quonset mess shed, “club tents” for socializing, living areas, etc. The PATSU’s had one camp; the CB’s another, PBY’s the next; RNZAF the next, USAAF, and Aussies (many recently back from the North African Campaign) to the north. With little free time, and a lack of similar interests, the groups did not mix much socially. Pilots tended to socialize with pilots, and mechanics with mechanics, and of course, there was a fairly rigid divide between officers and enlisted men (though not necessarily so, while in combat). In the summer of 1944 there were three Jeeps on the island. My father, Milton Bush, Sr., from Saginaw, Michigan, the PATSU Navy officer for legal and personnel matters, was fortunate enough to have one of the Jeeps.

The Navy base and camp were across the lagoon on Barahun Island, about 5 miles away from the main island. It was about one mile long, with an old overgrown copra plantation on it, and was home to approximately five squadrons of PT boats. Trees were planted in rows, 27 feet apart. About 450 sailors were stationed there plus administration and land support staff of about100. These included carpenters, welders, electricians, engine repairmen, radio/radar repair experts, machinists, gun repairers, quartermasters, and cooks. The PT boats tied up to anchored float buoys and small boats took the sailors ashore. The AGP Varuna, tender ship maintained the boats until mid-July, when three floating dry docks were delivered. There was a fuel dock with a gasoline supply pipe coming from the storage tanks inland. There was a machine shop, cook house, and a mess area. The main meal was about noon, shortly after the boats returned from their all-night missions. Little cooking was done on the boats. Sleeping quarters for many were on the boats. Some officers got Quonset hut quarters on shore. Intelligence briefings were about 3 PM, followed by patrol assignments. Boats were usually sent on patrol every third night, to allow for the constant boat repair and maintenance work to be done. Ferry boat service was provided by a barge to the airbase twice a day transporting mail, supplies and personnel.

IV. The Black Cats and the PBY-5A

The South Pacific Navy Command had about 12 squadrons of PBYs, painted black for night operations. These were the famous Black Cats. Each squadron had about 16 planes. The PBY, model was improved in 1944. The Black Cats had the newest version of the Catalina Flying Boat, the PBY-5A . The PBY-5As, had retractable landing wheels and wing float gear, a IFF transponder, radar to locate ships, wing bomb hangers for two 1,000 and two 500 pound bombs, or depth charges, wing brackets to hold two torpedoes, and a 3,000,000 candlepower searchlight. Additionally, the PBY-5As were equipped with twin .30 cal. eyeball nose turret machine guns; two side blister .50 cal. machine guns, and one .50 cal. rear tunnel gun, and even had crate space for forty 20-pound fragmentation bombs, to drop by hand. The PBYs were crewed by a pilot, copilot, navigator; radioman, radar man, bombardier, two mechanics/gunners, and two additional gunners.

The PBY-5A had two 1,200 horsepower Pratt & Whitney engines, and three blade propellers with 12 foot diameters. The wing span was 104 feet, the fuselage 61 feet long, and the planes weighed 34,000 lbs. empty, and 41,000 lbs. fully loaded. Cruising speed was 117 mph, and maximum speed 180 mph. The ceiling was 15.000 feet, and patrol range approximately 2,550 miles. Tactical operation range was about 1,500 miles. The fuel capacity of the PBY-5A was 1,800 gallons. The PBYs were equipped with quarters for four bunks in the center for sleeping during long flights, and even had a small kitchen.

The PBY crew base was about a mile south of the main airfield on Green Island, west of the main north-south road, down a driveway to the lagoon. There was a small officers’ boat dock at the end, and the Officers’ Club 50 feet from that. The officers’ small Quonset huts were north of the driveway, as were the officers’ and enlisted men’s mess tents. Just beyond was the movie theater with coconut log seating. Enlisted men’s quarters were south of the drive. The PBY’s were parked near the north end of Ocean Field, behind a strip of trees. The taxi to the takeoff area was about 100 yards.

V. The Bismark Archipelago Campaign

By February 1943, Guadalcanal had been mostly taken after a prolonged series of land, and naval battles.

“The great Japanese bastion at Rabaul on New Britain in the Bismark Archipelago posed a double threat to the Allies from 1942 through the early months of 1944. Bristling with warships and airplanes, it menaced the line of communication to Australia, and it blocked any Allied advance along the north coast of New Guinea to the Philippines. Reduction of Rabaul was therefore the primary mission … of the Allied force.”

By March 1944 major parts of the “Cartwheel,” reduction of Rabaul air and naval campaign had been completed. A good part of New Guinea coastal areas had been retaken. Rabaul, on New Britain Island still had over128,000 enemy troops at five army bases and five somewhat crippled airfields. Kavieng, on adjacent New Ireland, was also a major enemy base. Efforts to cut off supply routes were continuing for those two islands and several dozen surrounding enemy-held islands which held additional thousands of troops. Due to U.S. air superiority, most of the enemy shipping between the Japanese held islands was done by motor barge, and by night. During the day, the barges would hide under camouflage in island coves. The goal of the combined Green Island naval and air squadrons was to cut off all Japanese shipping and aviation in the area, thereby effectively isolating and incapacitating nearly 400,000 Japanese troops.

By day, the Navy, Marines and RNZAF air groups would conduct bombing runs on the islands, and search for ships. Japanese cargo and war ships could be quickly spotted and bombed. PBYs would often accompany the main bombers for search and rescue missions. These daytime missions were nicknamed “Dumbo Runs,” by the PBY crews. The slow PBYs would leave about four hours before the bombers left, then circle offshore from target areas until called by radio to fish downed crewmen out of the sea. Daytime control of the air, combined with the U.S. led island leapfrogging campaign, left the Japanese with hundreds of cut off islands that could only be supplied the steel and wood hulled motor transport barges.

By night, the PT Boats and PBYs would team up to hunt for the Japanese barges, using radar, and the huge airborne searchlights to locate the enemy. The planes would illuminate the barges from a few miles away or drop flares over them, and the PT boats would go in and shell them with the 40 mm cannons until they sank. Usually, three planes would go out each night, and return the next morning. The PT boats and the PBYs worked together on three day shifts. These night operations with the Black Cats and the PT boats continued until late 1944 when most of the barges were either sunk or disabled. The remaining Japanese garrison troops in the Solomon Islands were slowly starved into submission.

By the late spring of 1944, Rabaul and Kavieng had been effectively blockaded, and their airbases neutralized. The Japanese Navy actually abandoned Rabaul Harbor on February 1, 1944, after a series of prolonged carrier-based attacks. At least 50 Japanese ships still dot the harbor floor. The main Allied efforts then shifted to the daily bombing of more northerly enemy-held island bases. This was leading up to the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October, 1944. This was a huge sea and air battle, that took place shortly after the start of the Philippine Islands Campaign. In this battle (in which PT boats played a key role), the Japanese lost most of their remaining carriers and other big ships. This is when the term “Kamikaze Attack” first became infamous.

By the end of October 1944 the CB battalions on Green moved to Leyte, in the Philippines Islands, along with most of the PT boat units. Army, Navy, and Marine fighters and bombers were also reassigned to more forward bases. This left Green with the PBY’s and the RNZAF fighters and bombers, and the Little Joe crash boat. Manpower on Green Island was gradually reduced from 17,000 to about 450, leaving it a quiet backwater of the war.

By July 1945, most of the remaining Green Island Navy forces were transferred to Guiuan Naval Air Station on the south end of Samar Island in the southeastern Philippines. Guiuan was a collection of five big air and sea bases. The main cargo ship base was 15 miles south on Caliocan Island in Leyte Gulf. The Seabees built a causeway to connect it with Samar Island.  The PT boat base (Base 17) was about 12 miles north of Guiuan, west of the town of Salcedo in San Pedro Bay, commonly known as Bobon Point. Tiny Botic Island was just north of the Point. 212 PT Boats were docked there near the end of the war, including RONs 23, 27, and 28.  Warships anchored west of Guiuan in the “Guiuan Roadstead”. The small island of Manicani in San Pedro Bay in mid 1945 housed 6000 sailors and a huge ship repair facility.   

The war ended on September 2, 1945, and the Green Island base was decommissioned in late October. Most of the PT boats that had been previously based there, met an ignominious end in November when they were hauled onto a beach on Samar Island, doused with gasoline, and set afire. The determination had been made that the boats of wood construction, were not worth saving. Many troops were not sent home for several months. On some mountainous jungle islands, isolated individual Japanese Army soldiers did not get the surrender news, and remained “on duty” in hiding for a decade or two. One Japanese soldier in the Philippines was discovered in 1979, and the last one found in 1980.

SPECIAL THANKS TO MILTON BUSH - FOR THIS RESEARCH.

Rachel Carson references Nissan Island (Green Island) in her book Silent Spring She writes: On Nissan Island in the South Pacific, for example, spraying [DDT] had been carried on intensively during the Second World War, it was stopped when hostilities came to an end. Soon swarms of malaria-carrying mosquitos reinvaded the island. All of its predators had been killed off and there had not been time for new populations to become established. The way was therfore clear for a tremendous population explosion. Marshal Laird, who has described this incident, compares chemical control to a treadmill; once we have set foot on it we are unable to stop for fear of the consequences <Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. New York: Houghton Mifflin Comp., 1962. p. 257.

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