St. Michael's Cathedral at Alexishaven, a modest pile, was nevertheless one of the oldest buildings in New Guinea, which meant that it was around 50 years old. And it was a church; B-25 pilots disliked the job of destroying it. But it looked as if they would have to do it: Fifth Air Force intelligence learned that it was being used by the Japs as a military storehouse.
The flyers consulted their chaplain, the Rev. Eugene J. Reilly, and he dispelled their qualms: the Japs were "using a house of God to do the work of His enemies." The cathedral...
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