Tribune: "PCPI Signs Republic Constitution Today ... Text of Document to be made public after ceremony." Splashes: "Don't forget the PCPI members are signing the Draft of the proposed Constitution for the sake of everyone of us."

Well, Manila was all smiles about the Italian landings despite a lack of details; no one discussed the Constitution. Tom's Dixie Kitchen served spaghetti, and the boys were having such a riotous celebration that several Japanese officers got suspicious. The bartender set them at rest: "Just celebrating somebody's birthday."

News that the Japanese evacuated their airbase at Wewak was mentioned almost as an afterthought, but its significance struck me. Their foremost airbase in New Guinea now is at Hollandia in Dutch Guinea — a retreat for their air force of some 200 miles.