Evening star., 1942-09-29

MELBOURNE, Australia, Sept. 20.
The story of what happened to Vern
Haugland, Associated Press war cor
respondent, during the first 80 days
OF the six weeks he was missing in
the wilds of New Guinea was dis
closed today in the diary which he
kept while he was able to write.
The penciled entries in the small,
black, paper-bound notebook-the
first entry is August 8, the last Sep
tember 9-constitute moving hu-
man document of struggle for
survival in primeval, trackless jun
giles by an American who was
dropped from the skies into prob
ably the worlds widest country
without food and without any pre-
vious experience of the tropics or
jungles.
Mr.. Haugland knew little more
acout where he was than that he
was somewhere on one of the largest
islands in the world
His diary covers a period of 80
DAYS, possibly more, for at one point
he noted that in his fevered de-
lrium he might have telescoped
several days.
The diary ends abruptly Septem-
Der 9, when the last entry tells of
! finding a path and the first signs
of human habitation-the first sign
of hope after endless hopeless days.
Found by Missionaries.
How Mr.. Haugland Jared in SUBJ
sequent days and how he came to
be in a native village where mis-
sionaries found him September 10
is not known and may never be
known for he was delirious when
found and remained so until his
first period of lucidity in a Port
Moresby hospital, where he now is
recovering.
He emerged from a long period
Of delirium last night and recognized
Larry Lehbras. former Associated
Press correspondent, who now is
colonel and aide to Gen. Douglas
Macarthur. ~sgs
Tell my mother I've been real
sick. but I'm all right" he said.
The missionaries who found Mr..
Haugland tried to feed him, gave
him what medical aid they could.
then engaged native bearers and
accompanied them ton "a five-day
trek through thS jungle taking Mr..
Haugland to Acoastal@point.
He was in serious condition when
he reached port where an Aus
tralian Army unit was stationed.
Brig. Gen. Hugh j. Casey, Gen.
MacArthur's chief of engineers, was
visiting the port at the time. He
helped care for the reporter and sent
urgent messages which brought
small Australian rescue plane to the
post.
General Joined in Singing.
While they waited for the plane,
Gen. Casey said Mr.. Haugland talked
about God and shis mother, inter-
spersed with periods of incoherent
rambling in which he apparently
thought himself still falling in his
parachute.
In an effort to soothe him Gen.
Casey joined him at times when Mr..
Haugland broke out in incoherent
song.
Il don't know what I sang" said
Gen. Casey, but it semed to help"
l Mr.. Haugland, strapped in the
open cockpit of the small plane, was
taken from the outpost to Port
Moresby and the American advance
base hospital.
The route of Mr.. Haugland's wan
derings cannot be plotted from his
diary for the reason that the re-
porter himself did not know.
From the diary and other infor-
nation it can be said that Mr.
Haugland landed by parachute
somewhere in the higher ranges of
the Owen Stanley Mountains and
by tortuous route following noun
tain streams made his way toward
coastal valley.
1t. James A. Michael of Temple
Okla. co-pilot Of the bomber in
which Mr.. Haugland was riding
when it ran out of fuel after riding
out heavy storm en- route from
Australia to New Guinea August Z
still is listed as missing. Mr.. Haug-
land, who bailed out just ahead
OF 1t. Michael, met the co-pilot on
the second day of his wandering
but the two became separated Au-
gust 16.
Sergt. George T. Richman OF
Hopewell, Va, and Sergt Paul Ram
Sey of VincenneS, Ind, landed near
native villages and made their way
to Port MoreSby in eight days. 1t
Duncan Seffern of Manawa, Wis.
and one other member of the crew
reached Port Moresby after travel
ing 20 days through the jungle.
Mr.. Haugland's diary follows ir
part just as he wrote it and just as il
was received and deciphered in the
Australian bureau of the Associated
Press except for the omission OF
. purely personal entries and of pas
: sages which were undecipherable.
August 7-Bailed out about CSC
: at about 10000 (feeD. Mite in chute
in rain. Uninjured.
August 8-Heard plane at seven
(Two words illegible) eight forty af-
ter filling preserver with water -
August 9-Hiking.
| August 10-Mike and hiked all
day
August 1l-Co-pilot Michael and
! I may get separated. I have life
r preserver; he hasn't. II you find me
and not him. send help quickly as he
is starving. With food he can make
: it.
} August 12-Thru Gods grace Mike
: and are still together. Forded river
, near fork, Spent last night in chute
2 Mike caught up =. Spent mite
} on hillside, rain starting at four, un.
; der small rock. Third mite under
hrush shelter Fourth dav 1itflS