The fighting began when United States and Australian forces landed on the south-west corner of Morotai, a small island in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), which the Allies needed as a base to support the liberation of the Philippines later that year.
After his arrival on the island of Morotai with an engineer unit, he organised the construction of a chapel, which was dedicated on 25 July.
On 15 February 1945 PT-105 was transferred to MTB Squadron 18, under the command of Lt. Edward Macauley III, and saw action in New Guinea; at Manus Island in the Admiralties; and at Morotai in the Halmaheras.
He served in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force 1940–45, rising to the rank of lieutenant and serving in Darwin, Morotai and Borneo.
His unit had moved from airstrip to airstrip along the northern coast of New Guinea and then to Morotai supporting General MacArthur's drive to the Philippines performing dangerous photo recon and ground attack missions.
Promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in early 1944, he was Commander of the Seventh Fleet's Amphibious Group 8 from August 1944 to March 1945, participating in landings at Morotai, Leyte, Lingayen and elsewhere in the Philippines.
Morotai |
She was used by the Services Reconnaissance Department for clandestine operations in the waters of Borneo, Morotai, New Guinea, and the Philippines.
Before the capitulation of Japan NICA units already established civil administration in New Guinea (i.e. Hollandia, Biak and Manokwari, Numfur), the Moluccas (Morotai) and Borneo (Tarakan and Balikpapan).
The principal RAAF airfields in these areas were at Hollandia, Biak, Middleburg, Morotai, Labuan and Tarakan.
On 5 March three No. 93 Squadron Beaufighters departed Oakey to escort No. 79 Squadron Spitfires to Morotai.
The other two subspecies include Lycocorax pyrrhopterus morotensis found on the islands of Morotai and Rau and Lycocorax pyrrhopterus obiensis found on the islands of Obi and Bisa.
Flight operations began immediately and were eventually conducted from bases including Midway, Canton, Johnston Atoll, Guadalcanal, Munda, Morotai, Tacloban, and Clark Field.