[Spridgets] World War II - Way Off Topic

[Timothy H. Collins]

I have been researching my fathers time in the military. He would 
have been 90 this Thursday, but passed away when he was just 46 and I 
was not quite 16.

I have some war time photographs of him without dates or where they 
were taken. The photos are stamped on the back "PASSED BY EXAMINER - 
BASE 2446 ARMY" Other pics have different BASE numbers. From the 
vegetation in the pics I assume they were taken in Australia or New Guinea.

Is there any way to identify where these bases were located? I am 
unclear as to how pics were cleared by the Army. Did the GI's send 
film back home for processing?

I have learned some interesting things. Dad entered the service in 
May of 1941. He was sent to Australia in Feb of 1942 (just after 
Pearl Harbor) on the Queen Elizabeth.(Feb 18 to March 29) - the only 
time the Queen made that trip. He ended up on New Guinea but I can't 
tell for sure if he was there for the battle of Milne Bay - a famous 
battle for the Ausies. He traveled home in June of 1944 and was 
discharged June 15 of 1945 just shortly before "Fat Man" and"Little 
Boy" were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

So, it's an interesting study in history, but I come up with little 
additional info along the way and family members who might know have 
passed away too. If you can help with my question, please contact me 
directly. Thanks!

It's a shame that the National Archives of Service Men's records had 
a fire that destroyed all that valuable information.

Tim Collins
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12702006@N07/