The other D-Day hardly anyone knows about!

75 years ago today, on June 6, 1944, there was an invasion of Biak Island in the South Pacific.

New Guinea & Biak

The reason hardly anyone knows about the Invasion of Biak Island is that this invasion happened at the same time as the Normandy D-day invasion which got all the major publicity.

My father’s battalion was involved in capturing the island of Biak and taking Mokmer airdrome from the Japanese.

The Japanese invaded several areas of the Pacific after the Pearl Harbor disaster in December of 1941, so they had a two and a half-year head start to set up cannons and other defenses. The enemy constructed three airports along the beach.

Biak-Airdromes

General Douglas MacArthur ordered those airports to be captured so our planes could fly in and out to bomb key targets to win the war.

When my father’s battalion arrived by LST, which stands for Landing Ship, Tank – they were bombarded with cannon fire from atop a 200-foot high plateau in front of them.

Cannon

Two of the battalion troops were wounded when a cannon shell landed near the side of the ship hitting the coral under the water and the shrapnel injured them as they were climbing down the rope ladder. It took 2 months of heavy combat to finally kick the Japanese off the island.

My dad brought his camera and took pictures of the Japanese cannons, pill box, cannon shells and much more.

Enemy Pillbox on top of the ridge
His mother Lenore had to feed the chickens and do his chores while he was at war

His mother Lenore had to feed the chickens and do his chores while he was at war

He returned home to his mother after the war with 600 pictures he took during the war. I traced his steps month-by-month for three years from his home in St. Landry Parish Louisiana to war and back home.

He was in Australia, New Guinea, Biak, and the Philippine Islands.

I put his photos in a 308-page book titled DAD’S WAR PHOTOS: ADVENTURES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC.  You can get an autographed paperback copy directly from me. Call me at (888) 606-3257 to order with your credit or debit card. Or mail a check for $24 to cover book and shipping, payable to Cypress Cove Publishing, to PO Box 91195, Lafayette, LA 70509-1195.

A Hardback copy and a Kindle Ebook are available from Amazon.com(click here to go to Amazon to buy).