Dow ("self-pity") / Rose
Jenner / Pearson
Diary pages from this date
The war news is marvellous for us these days. The invasion of France is progressing steadily with no sign of our forces being hurled back into the sea. The Russians are making big advances in the Central sector and in the South the Germans must have lost thousands of men and vast supplies of material when the Russians recaptured the Crimean Peninsula. Our forces in Italy have forged ahead since the fall of Rome and out here things are certainly moving.
Saipan Island was subjected to heavy air and naval bombardment by a simply enormous American fleet on June 11th and American forces landed on the island three days ago. It is amazing to think of this enormous fleet or fleets operating about 2,000 miles from Pearl Harbour, its nearest big base, and right in the enemy’s inner defence line of islands. And yet the enemy’s main fleet refuses to come out and do battle. They dare not risk a decisive action for should they suffer a defeat, the whole of the sprawled out system of Japanese occupied islands, not to say the Japanese mainland itself, would be at the mercy of the American fleets with only their land based planes and submarines left to protect them. And now that the news is so good we are all getting more and more impatient!
Chester Nimitz states his intention of driving across the Pacific and landing somewhere on the South China coast. We all wonder if it will be Hong Kong and Canton. How thrilling if it were! We spend our time speculating how we shall leave this camp – whether we shall be liberated by American forces, whether the Japanese will just leave the Colony or whether this place will remain under Japanese occupation until the armistice. Well, time will prove!
Drizzly & dull again.
Ground rice.
Information re Camp conditions, health & rations dispatched to Swiss Minister in Tokyo.
With Steve pm.
No paper today, no news or rumours.
Continual wet weather spoiling gardens. Clothing etc. damp & muggy & cockroaches having a wonderful time.
From Ponting through Form. guard, we’ve some good news to come.