Nadzab-Markham Valley

29 AUGUST 1943

Seven men were caught by the Bn Cmdr out on the road. They had their weapons and they were on their way to indulge in a bit of Sunday afternoon shooting with their tactical ammunition. EM rec T* is being furnished each night and 60 men may go from the Bn. This goes into Port Moresby. And since there are women nurses there, one must assume that love will find a way. One of the greatest astonishing things about soldiers is their ability to find the way to the hearts of women. In other words, if there is any sexual activity to be located, a soldier will locate it.

* Enlisted man recreational transportation

30 AUGUST 1943

	Short hike this day over the same route as the first day’s hike. Nobody fell out. Service and HQ Companies stopped eating with the 2nd Bn and go to another bn for feeding. These two companies are not maintaining their own messes. The reason for this is that the Regtl Cmdr* has taken over the Service Co-HQ Co mess for the sole purpose of feeding the officers of the regimental staff and the battalion commanders. Colonel Jones is supposed to eat there, but he will have none of it and he eats at our own kitchen. Results: Because of the additional work of feeding the "4^th Battalion", when our mess had to feed Service and Headquarters Company, the following extra kitchen help was needed: KP’s 10, but it averaged about 15-20 since the mess opened for activity about 400 hr and seldom finished before 2000 hr. So those men were kept from training by Kinsler’s elite mess. On the original Adjutant’s Journal there are yellow spots on this page. These were caused by the first Freon "Bug Bombs", a substantial black canister about five inches long and three inches in diameter. It was the forerunner of all of the spray cans. The bombs were used for 10 seconds in each tent, each day.
	The sand table is now set up in the CO’s tent. It is under 24 hour guard, the guard being armed with Thompson Sub Machine Guns. Captain Padgett is preparing the sand table.
	*Colonel Kenneth Kinsler
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31 AUGUST 1943

0130 hr.	Lt. Max Hansen Bradbury, an F Co officer, left his tent in the bn officers area (to the west of camp) and started toward the latrine. Flashing his flashlight, Bradbury saw a man, brown clad, no arms (weapons), sleeves rolled down, maybe a fatigue hat. The man jumped from the grass and ran over the hill into the gully to the north. Bradbury had hardly returned to his tent to recount the incident when a terrific explosion (TNT, or grenade?) occurred in the vicinity of the 3dBn officer’s area which is located 50 yards to the south of us. No explanation of either the man or the explosion. The man is unusual. The explosion is not unusual. TNT was issued in packaged blocks about 3”x3”x4”, and dynamite caps were also issued, and also stuff called Primacord, and anyone who put those things together right and lit the thing could get a real loud “bang.”
	Lt J. Dick returned from advance supply base and left again. A type of insulated wire had been issued, the insulation burned off, the strands separated and rerolled. The results is a strong, almost invisible, wire which will be used for booby trapping. The last small items of ordnance repair are being taken care of. Jump master records ie, the exact list of man by plane loads for the operation were turned in today to regtl HQ. This is the first copy. Before the men adjust their chutes actually pack themselves into the transports several times, due to men going from duty to hospital or being marked “quarters”, for sick soldiers not sick enough to send to the hospital. No man who is marked for duty will be permitted to refuse to jump. Any man who hesitates in the cycle of fall-out-with chutes, entruck, detruck, enplane, and jump will probably be left at the spot of the refusal and the next-of-kin notified. The knowledge of the Bn Cmdr,* the S-3, the Exec , and the surgeon* as to the capacities of each of the individual men down in the rifle squads would seem an impossibility to a layman. Only two men out of the bn are suspected of weakness. The following men** joined from the rear base (Gordonvale): Pvt Wooten, Green, Ownsby, Dablock, Co D.**
	Lt. Col. George M. Jones Capt Ralph Greco Capt. Robert Lamar **These men had been in the hospital, or otherwise engaged in military or personal affairs.
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