The Army followed the Marines to Bougainville last week, seven days after the first landings. The commander and strength of the Army force were unannounced, but the bare, official accounts reflected smooth, effective coordination between the Army, the Marines and the seagoing Navy.
Combat and life on Bougainville were rugged; the Japs were on the island in force, frantically building new airfields and resisting every U.S. effort to widen the beachheads on Empress Augusta Bay. Said a Marine sergeant:
"You can't even see an enemy ten feet away at times. The jungle is so thick that we don't dare use mortars or grenades...
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