PACIFIC COMMANDS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 October 1942, Page 4

PACIFIC COMMANDS

CLOSE COOPERATION

STATEMENT BY MR STIMSON. REPLY TO CRITICISM. (By Telegraph—Press Association—copyright) (Received This Day, 12.35 a.m.) WASHINGTON, October 22. “In the Solomons Battle, Vice-Admi-ral Ghormley and General MacArthur are working in the closest possible cooperation, along the territorial borderline where their two commands join,” the Secretary of War, Mr H. L. Stimpson, told a Press Conference, replying to a suggestion that confusion existed between the divided commands.

He added: “The responsibilities of the two commands in the Pacific are well fixed and are thoroughly understood. The bulk of the Pacific area is under Admiral Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, including Army installations and troops in the Aleutians, Hawaii, Fiji, New Hebrides,New Caledonia, and New Zealand. The southern part of this command is under the. direct orders of Vice-Ad-miral Ghormley. Excluded from the area of Admiral Nimitz’s command are the west coast of the United States and the Alaskan mainland, both under Lieutenant-General Dewitt, with Ma-jor-General Buckner in immediate control in Alaska. Also separate is General MacArthur’s command, comprising all the United Nations forces in Australia, New Guinea and the islands northward of Australia. In the Solomons battle, General MacArthur is giving extremely valuable support to the naval air and ground forces under Vice-Admiral Ghormley. Generaj MacArthur’s bombers have been pounding the Japanese.”