Mike
The caption says an Army Engineer battalion. The pattern is different to Marines and there were no Marines anywhere near here. The engineers could well have arrived direct from USA (or Australia) for the landing whereas the bulk of the troops had been working their way up the coast for the past two years.
Apparently Macarthur ordered 150,000 sets of uniforms but these do not appear to have been sent or issued.
The Marines did not have good experience with the early camouflage as it stood out, when troops were moving, much more than the plain green and they went back to the old uniforms. The second style received better reception but right to the end you see Marines in combat with camo shirts and green pants and vice versa.
Lang
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