Pongani is a village on the north coast of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

Dyke Ackland Bay Dyke Ackland Bay is a large bay in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. The bay extends from Cape Nelson to Cape Ward Hunt. Porlock Bay and Oro Bay are some of the smaller bays located within the larger bay. The bay was named by Captain John More ...

Oro Province Oro Province, formerly (and officially still) Northern Province, is a coastal province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Popondetta. The province covers 22,800 km2, and has 176,206 inhabitants (2011 census). The province shares la ...

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the area around the village was used as a staging area for

allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

forces for the Battle of Buna-Gona. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

126th Infantry Regiment The 126th Infantry Regiment ("Second Michigan") is a United States military unit of the Michigan Army National Guard. The 126th was originally an infantry regiment, then was converted into an armoured role, and then was converted to a light ca ...

and

128th Infantry Regiment The 128th Infantry Regiment ("Les Terribles") is a United States military unit of the Wisconsin National Guard, currently represented by the 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment. The 128th has served as part of the American Civil War, Spanish� ...

of the 32nd Infantry Division together with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n 2/6th Independent Company staged in Pongani before heading towards offensives in Buna, Sanananda and

Gona Gona may refer to: People * Gona Budda Reddy * Gona Ganna Reddy * Marigona Dragusha, Kosovar model Places * Gona, Ethiopia * Gona, Papua New Guinea * Gona Barracks Gona Barracks is a heritage-listed barracks at 3, 7,12, 25 & 26 Gona Parade, ...

. A

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

supply dump was constructed in the area and was used for supplies coming via sea, and later after

Pongani Airfield Pongani Airfield was an aerodrome built during World War II at Pongani village Papua New Guinea. Built by native Pongani village men, women and children, under the supervision of Australia New Guinea Administrative Unit officer Jack Wilkinson, cl ...

was built, by air.

References

Pongani

Populated places in Oro Province {{OroProvince-geo-stub