Posing By the Swimming Hole

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Three officers of General Walter Krueger's staff stand on a log in front of a swimming hole located on Goodenough Island, in the Solomon Sea, New Guinea (present day Papua New Guinea). Robert Doyle describes it, "the natural pool, formed by a cascading mountain stream, is 12 feet deep." A soldier in uniform stands on a rock above the waterline while another nude soldier climbs out below. Doyle also had this to say, "Every afternoon it is filled with shouting soldiers in their birthday suits, seeking relief from the sweltering heat, swimming in the cold, crystal clear water or lounging on the huge rocks." The names of the staff members are listed as Lieutenant Colonel Ray Hamilton (Ham) Martin, Pilot and Senior Aide, of San Antonio, Texas; Lieutenant Calvin Meitz, Co-Pilot, of Burlingame, California; and Captain H.B. (Ben) Dechert, Aide (formerly of the Dallas News), of Dallas, Texas. In his diary, Doyle says that he and the officers went for a swim in the pool. Whether this group portrait was taken before or after their swim is unknown.