Evening star., 1944-08-27
BY Robert Eunson,
ASSnciafad prasa At ~ Uritav


soUTHwEsT PACIFIC HEAD
QUARTERS.-The engineer special
brigades have been Americas answer to
the challenge of Japan's hop-skip island
warfare in the Pacific.
You haven't heard much about the
special brigades. They were conceived
in the dark days of 1912 while the
japanese were leap-frogging southwark
for 5000 miles and it became evident
that new tricks would be needed to root
them out. Only now, with the New
Guinea campaign practically completed,
has Gen. Douglas Macarthur permitted
the story Of the special brigades-
MacArthurs amphibs-to be told.
The amphibs are not engineers; they
are neither soldiers nor sailors; they are
not fighting men or service troops-yet
they are all of these. They man the
barges for the island-hopping expedi-
tions, they put the troops on the beach,
they bring in the supplies-perhaps
fighting all the while-and they do
a smart job as engineers in their spare
time. They are beating Japan at
game Japan invented.
They Are Brave Fighters
The New Guinea campaign was the
climax Of their career And the back
bone Of that gigantic operation was the
I'd Engineer Special Brigade, under Brig.
Gen. William F. Heavey Of Wash
ington. D. c., "fightin' soldier" If
ever there was one. His boys of the
SESB have been in action since June,
l943. These men have stars on their
service ribbons for Salamaua Lac,
Finschhafen, Arawe, Gloucester, Saidor.
the Admiraltys. Aitape, Hollandia, Tan
amerah Bay. Sarmi, Wakde and Biak
names bright in the record Of United
States strides back toward the Philip
pines.
They have won so awards for valor,
from Silver Stars to a Congressional
Medal OF Honor; they had bounced
over 1439,034 boat miles, transported
1874, ,7O6 men and 363,707 tons Of cargo
up to May of this year. They made
the first test of American rockets. They
were out of the very front of action
for only Is days over a 12-month
stretch.
Specialized Training
The brigade trained at Cape Cod and
Vineyard Sound, Mass, at Camp Cara
bella, Fla, and at Fort Ord. Calf. They
got acquainted with the types of craft
they operate-the 50-foot LCM Oand-
ing craft mechanical, which carries
100 men and is their favorite); the &c.
foot LCvP Oanding craft vehicle and
personneD, the amphibious duck, and,
latest addition to their ensemble. the
buffalo. an amphibious tank that can
carry so men over coral reefs, sand,
hell and high water.
(Remember that these fellows are
not involved in the long overwater op-
erations like Tarawa and Guam, where
big transports carry the troops and
barges are used only for the final dash
to the beach. They are in the Short
hop business. They load up at the
starting point and set down the troops
at the objective)
Sent overseas, to Cairns, Australia,
the SESB built boat assembly plant
which, operating with the efficiency of
q United States auto assembly line,
turned out almost 1000 barges at the
rate of seven day.
Their First Test
The SESBs first test came in June
1943 The Allies had established base
at Morobe, midway between Buna and
Salamaua, which still was in Japanese
hands. The pioneer convoy was So
American and two captured japanese
barges, escorted by two PIT boats.
Right at the outset, the convoy ran
into a storm which natives said was
the worst in memory. But the boats
inched along the eneny-held coast to
Nassau Bay, where 12-foot waves were
pounding the beach. It was abvious
that the barges couldn't land through
such surf, but the orders said to
land.
So. bouncing In all directions, they
went in. Large quantities Of arms,
ammunition and equipment were lost,
81 boats were swamped-but every SOL
dier was put ashore.
Greatly Outnumbered
Then the amphihs turned soldier, too.
Sixty EIGHT Of them were posted on the
southern perimeter Of the beachhead;
So engineers against 400 to 100 Lapa-
nese. 1--WE know you engineers. Wen
get you," yelled the charging Nippo-
nese. They didn't.
When dawn came, after . night Of
hand-to-hand fighting with knife and
bayonet, the beachhead still was intact.
And the infantry commander said It
couldn't have been held without the en-
gineers.
Even then, the SEsB was not nm
ished. The medical Supplies and am
munita0n lost with the swamped boats
had to be replaced. Quickly they were