When the air crews got to Saipan they were given Quonset huts to live in. The officers and enlisted men were housed separately, of course. Ground crew personnel were housed in tents. Men from several different crews would be housed together which is why many of the men identified in the pictures below are not part of the Star Duster'screw.
People in the pictures will be identified from left to right. Full names are given if known.
The "Discrete Elite"
This picture shows the living area for the personnel of the 870th Bomb Squadron. The arrow points to the Quonset hut the enlisted men of the Star Duster were assigned to. In the event of an air raid the men would head for the cliff overlooking the beach for cover.
The men of this hut scrounged around to find things like the front porch awning to make their quarters more homelike. They also made a sign which read:
The "Discrete Elite"
Exclusive Personnel
Standing: Robert Riherd, Carl Barthold, William Linke
Standing: Gaylor "Whitie" Mervin, Joe Kenney, Bob Stangland, Richard Harman, Carl Barthold, William Linke
Sitting: Joe Swann, unknown, unknown, Achilles Stathas, Robert Riherd, unknown, Maurice Hanks
Sitting in chair on left: unknown
Crouching on front step: Maurice Hanks
Standing in foreground (back to camera): Johnny Doebling
Standing behind Hanks: unknown
Sitting: unknown, James Zornes, Joe Kenney (not certain)
The men are working to beautify their quarters by constructing a flower bed in front of the porch. Bob Stangland's mother contributed to the effort by sending flower seeds through the mail.
The finished flower bed.
This is the back end of the enlisted men's quarters. Bob Stangland remembers his cot was just inside the back door.
Standing: Maurice Hanks, Joe Kenney
Standing: Bob Stangland
Standing: Achilles Stathas
These smiling men have completed their tour of duty and are heading back home!
Standing: Joe Swann, Bob Stangland, Achilles Stathas
Officer's Quarters
Standing: unknown, unknown, unknown, Bill Lind, Irwin Moskowitz, unknown, Ed Marsh
Other Pictures of Life on Saipan
Spraying DDT to fight insects
Showers
Tents
Oil Drum Theater
P-47 Thunderbolt
Around Saipan
Sugar Mill
Ships
We think the troop transport in the last two pictures is the USS Robin Wintley which carried some of the enlisted men back to Hawaii when their tour of duty was over.
