The New Guinea Gang

MacArthur struggled to tell the story of his early battles in New Guinea. Accreditation procedures and censorship policies were initially chaotic. Flying from Australia to the New Guinea front was extremely hazardous. Vern Haugland was lucky to survive this journey in August. Byron Darnton became a victim of a friendly-fire incident two months later. Often, no more than two reporters managed to report from the Buna front at any one time, and they faced numerous problems trying to communicate their stories to America. MacArthur tried to step into this vacuum, but his overoptimistic and egocentric communiqués increasingly alienated reporters.