US Army

The Old Bamboo - Bougainville, 1944.

US Army/US National Archives

African-American soldiers of the 93rd (US Army) Division negotiate a natural bamboo "patch", Numa-Numa trail, Bougainville (New Guinea), 1 May, 1944. If the US National Archive date is correct, this must be a security or clearing-up operation. The critical battle for control of the Numa-Numa Trail was fought out between two US Marine divisions and the Japanese (IJA) 23rd Infantry Regiment between 18 and 23 November, 1943. Fighting was very heavy, but the superiority of the Marines in numbers and equipment told strongly in their favour. US fatalities ranged just above 100; Japanese somewhat above 1,000. Bamboo, in its various species, is a vigorous, invasive type of grass. Oh, I almost forgot - large. Its native distribution is across the tropical and equatorial regions of the world. A mature, "woody" bamboo patch of the sort shown in the photo would not easily have been pushed apart by infantrymen; machetes might have helped. Notwithstanding its tropical natural range, bamboo can grow very well in temperate regions, given half a chance. It is cultivated extensively in decorative and botanical gardens in many temperate areas. Unfortunately, when planted by domestic gardeners, or let grow out of control, the results can be less fortunate. One adviser of domestic gardeners in my vicinity, recently asked what one could do to get rid of it, suggested that this was close to a lost cause; better to cut it back, and keep it under control. Best regards, JR.