It has been 63 years since I sweated out all the work put into the topographic survey that was no doubt needed to locate that copper, but that's a story to tell at some point.
Regards:
Bob Pollock
rasnowshoe@gmail.com
Hi, Peter. I'm Bob Pollock I came back to fill in some things that I didn't have time to get into at the earlier visit, I see you did give honorable mention though in your update blog thanks.
Your web site is interesting all right! I thought I had solved my problem when you had an e-mail from an 84 year old U.S. Army medic that had been on the island back in 1945 and had meet up with an Australian that he mentioned had helped a Chinese family from getting killed by the Japanese during the war. This may have been the same one that I sat and drank his Royal Banquet whiskey and played poker with but I called to talk with him only to find that he had just past away in April 2010, he lived here in New England ( New Hampshire) So I thought I would finish my story regarding survey of Bougainville. The U.S. 30th Eng.Topographic Btn. 537th Company did the surveying in 1948 and 1949 you can go to the National Library of Australia to verify this information. We pulled into Empress Augusta Bay right off of Torokina point in the LST 553 and began my full year of getting to know the native Bougainvillians and that beautiful island. They were a real hospitable people and when I found out that there was a war down there because of the Copper Mine it was hard to believe. IVE BEEN TRYING TO GET THE NAME OF THIS PERSON (Australian) to get this into my story of what was going on back then, with no success. Am hoping some one else may have known of him his home wasn't far from our camp and was married, we became good friends.
While there I had an infection from a bite that needed attention but the ship had to go to Guadalcanal to get fresh water and supplies that were needed, the LCM's went with them so one of the natives from the village (i think it was called sing sing village) out rigged me all the way to Buka were the missionary doctor took care of it.Talk about seamen ship he had to tack most of the way saved my arm and maybe more.So as you might understand I feel indebted to him. So this is just the tip of the ice burg so to speak there is lot more that I could say regarding my stay on Bougainville.Island. As those who you have invited to give there accounts of the construction of the Copper project. O, by the way I was working for Bechtel in the U.S. in 1970s at the Limerick Nuclear power plant in Penna.
Thanks for listening.
Bob Pollock
