This account of the primarily air war over New Guinea and surrounding islands during 1942-44 by the USAAF and the RAAF. US naval and army involvement was also significant as the air power was to prevent Japanese air interdiction as well as attacking Japanese army infiltration into New Guinea. These operations are little known in the overall history of WWII, but the book rectifies this with incredible detail of the human element of the defenders against the Japanese onslaught to reach and influence the Allied Forces building up in Australia.
The extreme conditions faced by the aircrews and ground personnel through lack of sanitation and disease combined with the lack of spares to maintain the aircraft are graphically described, as are the attacks by Japanese aircraft on their rudimentary airfields. The gradual improvement of logistics capabilities and supplies took months to come through and eventually the tide was turned as more modern aircraft arrived from the US. With tier arrival, increasingly aggressive missions were carried out against Japanese targets that were heavily defended by aircraft and anti-aircraft ground fire. Nevertheless, the allies prevailed but at a high cost in both men and aircraft.
A significant factor that worked against aircrew who were forced to either bail out or crash land, was the unforgiving jungle occupied by the Japanese, the shark infested waters around the islands and the severe tropical weather conditions. The stories of how these hazards were overcome, or not, are compelling and once again are examples of human resilience.
A compelling account in so many ways and highly recommended.