On 5 January, the radio telephone system not yet having been
established, radio operators of the Headquarters Company Signal
Section went to Companies "D" and "E" of the Regiment to maintain
an inter-island communication system; equipment used for this operation
was a SCR 399, as a base station on Mniwetok, and a AN/GRC 9 on each
of the other islands.
This net continued in operation for three weeks
and proved of great value to all concerned.
Upon the opening of the
radio telephone service between the islands, the Headquarters Company
net was closed and the operators on Aomon and Runit Islands returned
to Eniwetok.
On the night of 15 January, at approximately 1900 hours, a fire
broke out in the kitchen section of the Bomber Mess Hall, and ina
very few minutes the entire kitchen building was in flames.
The
destruction of the kitchen and a major portion of the equipment therein necessitated the establishment of a temporary kitchen in a building
close by the mess hall, utilizing the units field ranges for the cooking of foods and heating of water.
Immersion heaters were brought into
use for the cleaning of pots and pans and the washing of mess gear by
the troops.
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During the second week in February, it was decided to utilize the
men in the Signal Section, now without any signal duties, in the formation of a utilities section to handle whatever work projects that should
be assigned by Base 5-3.
These men, with the exception of the NCO's
in charge, were inexperienced along construction lines.
Section VIb
However, these
52
ere a