Operation Squarepeg

In late January 1944 a force of New Zealand soldiers and Allied specialists undertook a daring, behind the lines reconnaissance of the Japanese-held Green Islands of Papua New Guinea. The Japanese contested the invasion with air power and inflicted heavy damage on the American cruiser USS St. Louis. After a successful landing, the New Zealanders pushed inland and encountered fanatical Japanese defenders entrenched in thick jungle. After the island was secured, Allied engineers - including the famed Seabees - built airfields, roads and shipping facilities. The seizure of the Green Islands completed the encirclement of the main Japanese base in the South Pacific at Rabaul. A memorable but overlooked action of the Pacific War, ""Operation Squarepeg"" involved a diverse force of Allied sailors, soldiers and airmen that included Charles Lindbergh and future president of the United States Richard Milhouse Nixon.