Us Official Photographs

Boston bombers near Lae

a smokescreen along the Markham River near Lae. (Photo No. 1 of 5.) (Douglas A-20) MAIN CAPTION: Here is the dramatic story of the first use of paratroopers in the Pacific, told in exceptionally good action shots. As General Douglas MacArthur watched this scene from a plane in the air, American paratroopers, jumping from a lower altitude than ever before attempted in battle, descended on the Markham valley, west of Lae, to block the escape of 20,000 Jap troops from Australians who landed east of Lae. 503rd Parachute Infantry.