Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Philippine Islands in the 1930s.

During the pre - World War II imperial reign of General Douglas MacArthur's American Raj.

And a hot - shot U.S. Army machine-gunner turned boxer:

"Manila John" Basilone.

Future U.S. Marine Corps winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor on Guadalcanal in October, 1942 ...


Snippet from the late James Brady's Hero of the Pacific: The Life of Marine Legend John Basilone, 2010.


"R & R to New Zealand?" You bet! Every six months, too!

Page 110.

"All of MacArthur's troops looked forward to their R & R stints every six months in New Zealand, with its temperate climate, pretty girls, local beers. and people a lot like us.

"Some of the farm boys and ranchers among the enlisted men spent their R & R, and voluntarily so, living with families and working without pay and happily on farms and cattle stations (ranches).

"The Yanks found New Zealanders wonderful, but really they would have welcomed almost anything to get them out of the Philippines for a time.

"Some of Basilone's fellow soldiers, their enlistments up, instead of going home to the States returned to New Zealand to marry local girls ..."

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