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Artist Robert Emerson Curtis (1898 - 1986)

Date1943

Object number00017887

NameDrawing

MediumCrayon, paper

DimensionsOverall: 335 x 471 mm, 100 g

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

Goodenough Island

DescriptionThis drawing depicts a group of naked United States soldiers washing trucks and jeeps on Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea. After the defeat of the Japanese forces occupying Goodenough Island, New Guinea, allied airfields were established. They became an important staging point for Australian and American operations in the south-west Pacific.HistoryThe Pacific War initially began as a conflict between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan on 7 July 1937. By 1941 the conflict had become part of the greater World War II, with the Allied powers joining China in the war against Japan. The Japanese achieved a series of swift victories, and by early 1942 most of south-east Asia and parts of the Pacific had been occupied. The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour in December 1941 saw America officially enter the conflict. The United States forces played a dominant role in the war with Japan, particularly in the south-west Pacific region. On 23 January 1942, Japan captured Rabaul, the capital of the Australian-controlled territory of New Guinea, which marked the beginning of Allied and Japanese fighting in New Guinea. With the fall of Singapore and bombing of Darwin in February 1942, the Australian mainland was under increasing threat from Japanese invasion. By March, Japan had occupied Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies prompting Australia to recall troops from the Mediterranean, and the United States joined in the defence of Australia with equipment and troops. Australian and United States troops were engaged in mainly land battles in New Guinea, beginning in 1942 and continuing in some parts of New Guinea until 1945. SignificanceThis drawing is an illustration of the involvement of United States troops in the Allied campaign at New Guinea during World War II.