Michael sent me some additional information on the 472nd. Here is what he sent me.
Dear Mr. Lambing,
In a volume entitled The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Japan, by Karl C. Dod, I found the following (pp. 212-213)
"Next was the matter of finding skilled mechanics. Repeated requests from the theaters for equipment repair units brought the word from Washington that none were available. Finally, on 10 November [1942], the 472d Engineer Maintenance Company landed at Noumea [New Caledonia], the sole unit of its kind to be sent to the far Pacific in 1942. Within a few days the men were swamped with work. Because their shop equipment was being sent on a later transport, they had to tackle the tremendous backlog of repairs with a few tools borrowed here and there. A month after reaching New Caledonia, the unit's commander wrote, 'Life is very busy over here, but very interesting, what with three-cylinder Southern Cross engines, Leeds-Fowler power units, five-cylinder Paxman-Ricardo diesel engines, 75-year-old French locomotives, Nippon brand cement mixers, [and] miscellaneous Japanese electrical apparatus . . . there is never a dull moment.'"
Mike Brodhead