Australia
Strathpine, Queensland

In February 1943 came the welcome orders which alerted the division for an overseas assignment as a dismounted unit.  Immediately horses and horse equipment were turned in.  Transition to a dismounted status was completed well in advance of the scheduled movement date.  The last elements of the division cleared Fort Bliss on18 June 1943, staged through Camp Stoneman, California, departing from the United States on 3 July and closing at Strathpine in Queensland, Australia on 26 July 1943.  The MP Platoon, Headquarters Troop, 1st Cavalry Division had completed its first overseas movement and was looking forward to its first combat assignment.

The trip to Australia was made in two ships:  the S.S. Monterey and S.S. George Washington.  Trucks met the debarking troops and transported them to their base, Camp Strathpine, 15 miles north of Brisbane. There, for the next six months, the troopers had a busy time building their camp into a show place that became known as the most beautiful military establishment in Australia, engaging in jungle and amphibious training, and entertaining themselves and the Australians with such spectacles as a rodeo and a field meet.  All during this period there was a steady stream of official visitors who came to inspect the camp and the activities of the soldiers.

Early in 1944 the 1st Cavalry Division completed a movement to Oro Bay, New Guinea.  Ready and impatient for immediate combat service, the troopers had difficulty in concealing their disappointment at being employed as labor troops to unload ships at their new location.  The work kept them physically hardened however, for the combat service which was to come later.

To the men of the 1st Cavalry Division and especially the MP Platoon it had seemed to be a long, hard battle just to get the privilege of fighting the enemy that had attacked Pearl Harbor, but their opportunity came on the last day of February 1944 and they were ready to make the most of it.  

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