Evening star., 1944-08-13

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and remounted and now forms a
part OF the coastal defenses on the
Island of Oahu.
All of the other ships are afloat
and in service, most of them having
been put back into commission here
at Puget Sound, and all of them
greatly improved in fire power They
have been used in action in the
Pacific and elsewhere-one of them
indeed, the Nevada, having taken
part in the bombardment of the
coast of Normandy prior to and
during the landing operations there
as late as the 9th of June.
I spent three days on the island
Of Oahu and everywhere, as at the
Navy Yard, the war activities have
multiplied almost beyond belief.
Military Conference.
On the afternoon of my arrival
my old friend, Gen. Douglas Mac
Arthur, arrived by air from New
Guinea and We began a series of
interesting and useful conferences,
accompanied by Admiral Nimitz and
my own chief of staff, Admiral
Leahy, and Gen. Richardson, the
commanding general of Army
Forces in the Hawaiian area and
Admiral Halsey, commander of the
3rd Fleet.
In these three days we talked
about Pacific problems and the best
methods of conducting the Pacific
campaign in the future. The dis
cussions developed complete accord
both in the understanding of the
problem that confronts us and in
the opinion as to the best methods
for its solution. All of us must bear
in mind the enormous size of the
Pacific area, keeping a mental map
of the whole of it in mind.
The Hawaiian Islands used to be
considered an outpost. We were not
allowed to fortify Guam, nor did
we fortify Wake or Midway or
Samoa
Today the Hawaiian Islands are
no longer mere outpost They
constitute major base from which,
and from the Pacific Coast, 'front.'
line operations are being conducted
twice as far away as the distance
between the Coast and Hawaii The
Hawaiian Islands have helped to
make possible the victories at Quad
alcanal and New Guinea and the
Marshalls and the Marianas.
Base Against Japan.
The islands will make possible fu-
ture operations in China-make pos
sible the recapture and independ-
ence of the Philippines, and make
possible the carrying of war into
the home islands of Japan itself and
its capital city of Toxic.
In a few minutes I want to say
anoher word about the future of
the Pacific.
During the rest of my stay in
Hawaii l visited many activities. in
Guiding the great air fields. the hos
pltals, and an ambulance plane at
Hickman Field which had just come
IN with wounded men from Saipan;
and l saw large Army group which
was going through a complete course
on jungle Warfare-an art which we
have developed so eXpertly that our
troops are more than a match in
the jungle for any japanese whom
We nave yet to meet. I am very
proud of the basic training and the
hnal training our sons are getting
at home and overseas.
ReJolnlng our ship, We headed
Tor the Aleutlan Islands, four days
later arriving at Adak and one of
the more westerly islands of the
group. There again l found intense
activity at what might be called a
nearly completed advance base. 1t
was from here that a great part of
the expeditions for the recapt,lre
OF Attu and Kiska started. Adak
TWO years ago was a bleak and
practically uninhabited island
which, with the other Aleutian
Islands. seemed relatively unim-
portant in the plans for the security
OF our own continent.
Aware of Aleutian Threat.
You here can well realize the
commotion which followed the
japanese occupation of Attu and
kIska and you may have thought
that the chiefs of staff in WASH
lngton were not paying enough at
tentlon to the threat against Alaska
and the Coast.
We realized. of course. that such
japanese threat could become
serious if it was unopposed, but
we knew, also, that Japan did not
have the naval and air power to
carry this into effect without greater
resources and longer time to plan.
Preparations to throw the Japa-
neSe from their toe-holds had been
laid even before the japanese got
there, and the rest of the story
you know. 1t took great prepara-
tions and heavy fighting to eject
them from Attu and by the time
the great expedition to recapture
klska got there. the japanese had
ter part of valor; they decided re-
tlrement and retreat was better for
them than hari-kari They aban-
doned the Aleutians.
Safe Against Japs Now.
The climate at Adak is not the
most inviting in the world, but
want to say word of apprecia-
ton to the thousands of officers and
men of all the services who have
built up this base and other bases
in the extreme northwest in such
a short time to point where the
people of our Pacific Coast, of Brit
ish Columbia. and of Alaska can
feel certain that We are safe against
japanese invasion on any large
scale