Location
Lat 5° 37' 60S Long 146° 28' 0E  Located on the north coast of New Guinea, 110 miles northwest of Finschafen,

Wartime History
Occupied by a small Japanese garrison.

American Missions Against Saidor
April 18, 1943 - March 4, 1944

Allies targeted Saidor for its airfield and to build a naval base, and bypass the stronger Japanese garrison at Sio. On January 2, 1944 General Martin's 126 RCT, 120th Field Artillery and other units from the 32nd Infantry Division on in landing craft and LST's. The US Army used carrier pidgens for the last time in their history at Saidor. The pidgens were used to deliver messages from the ofshore boats to troops ashore. But, in their last useage, the pidgens still beat the radios - arriving before the radios could be setup. Approximately 200 Japanese defending the area, but most fled inland and withdrew on inland trails towards Madang.

Saui Beach
Staging point for Japanese barge traffic on the coast.

Saidor Airfield
American built forward airfield

Yamai Airfield (Saidor #2, Tarlitce)
American built forward airfield

Yalan Plantation
Located 30 miles west of Saidor.

Dumun Village
Site of Japanese observation post

L-4A Grasshopper Serial Number 43-29071
Pilot Piotrowski MIA February 7, 1944 discovered 1998

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009