The Americans invade Auckland

[Jon]

Thought some of you guys might be interested in this which was in The NZ Herald today

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11460550

This was before I was born

You guys "stole" all our young ladies

 

[DarisMulkin]

I saw it in the news but didn't read the article.

Daris

 

[Jon]

I saw it in the news but didn't read the article.

Daris

Did you come down here Daris all those years ago and steal all our young ladies so you could marry them and take them back to the States
So all the local lads were left with only sheep?
It makes interesting reading as the number of Americans who came down here during the war years

 

[highup]

Thought some of you guys might be interested in this which was in The NZ Herald today

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11460550

This was before I was born

You guys "stole" all our young ladies

At any one time between June 1942 and mid-1944, according to Jock Phillips' book Brief Encounter, there were about 50,000 American servicemen in camps across New Zealand - mostly in Auckland and Wellington.

For security reasons, the Pacific Command insisted the press make no mention of the visiting forces in New Zealand - the censorship remaining till November that year. But it was an impossible secret to keep from the Auckland public as thousands of clean-cut, uniformed marines marched from the wharves to the railway stations, then to camps strewn across the region.

Hard to keep a secret of 50,000 US servicemen on an island that's only 20 miles wide.

demisemiseptcentennial

That word is hard to even look at. Happy Anniversary, Jon.

 

[Jon]

Hard to keep a secret of 50,000 US servicemen on an island that's only 20 miles wide.

And its not even that wide there
Most of around Auckland there is water

Did you see this bit " and stole the hearts of many young Auckland women. Not all were broken-hearted, though. When the last troops filed out in mid-1944, almost 1500 New Zealand women had married US servicemen.

 

[Nick]

....

 

[Incognito]

Hard to keep a secret of 50,000 US servicemen on an island that's only 20 miles wide.

And its not even that wide there
Most of around Auckland there is water

Did you see this bit " and stole the hearts of many young Auckland women. Not all were broken-hearted, though. When the last troops filed out in mid-1944, almost 1500 New Zealand women had married US servicemen.

That's a two way street Jon. There were 1500 American gals back home waiting. No doubt more than a few had rings on their fingers and buns in the oven.