Word: manus
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Spokes. From the Marianas, well-protected sea lanes would radiate to secondary bases in the Philippines and Okinawa. To the south, Manus in the Admiralty Islands would be (subject to Australian approval) a Guam in reserve, maintained in caretaker status...
Besides these mainstays, the blueprint calls for a network of secondary bases crisscrossing the Pacific: Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Eniwetok, Kwajalein, the Palaus (all paid for in U.S. blood); eastern Samoa, Wake, Midway (already U.S. possessions) ; Truk and Manus...
...these, only Okinawa, Truk and Manus are suitable for important naval usage. The Jap base at Truk, perhaps the Pacific's best landlocked anchorage, would presumably be acquired by what Truman called "arrangements consistent with the United Nations Charter." Postwar rights to Manus, an Australian mandate in the Admiralties which the Seabees built into a major fleet repair station, would be subject to negotiation, would undoubtedly entail reciprocal rights to one or more U.S. bases...
Among other uncensored items at Manus are a farm with 500 chickens, ducks, a technical library, an evening school where navigation, mathematics, mechanics, history, English and foreign languages are taught; baseball fields, basketball and handball courts ; a beer garden and a bandstand. On the brow of a hill overlooking the great installation is a desolate, wilting shack - the only visible reminder of Jap occupation...
...Manus is still growing. Steam shovels and bulldozers are clearing the way for new docks. But, like the other improvised bases in the Pacific, Manus may never be quite finished. Said an admiral: "Our ambition is to leave unfinished bases all the way across the Pacific to Japan." A signpost on Manus reads: "Tokyo, 2,000 miles; Manila, 1,670 miles...