Soputa is a village located inland from Gona

Gona

-History:Gona was the site of an Anglican church and mission.During World War II, Imperial Japanese troops invaded on 21–22 July 1942 and established it as a base. Three missionaries were captured at Gona, Father James Benson, May Hayman and Mavis Parkins. The two women and a six year old boy were...

, Buna

Buna, Papua New Guinea

Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna-Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with a airstrip...

 and Sanananda

Sanananda

-History:Occupied by the Imperial Japanese in 1942 during World War II and became a heavily fortified defensive area.Liberated by the Australian Army and US Army on 18 January 1943 during the Battle of Buna-Gona.-References:**...

 in Papua New Guinea. The village is located at the crossroads of the Kokoda-Sananada Road and Buna-Kokoda Road. Trails lead to Buna and Sananada.

History

On 5 January 1943, Australian infantry and armour reach Soputa with the US Army's 32nd Division and 41st Division. A drop zone and staging area for Australian troops were located at this area during the battle of Gona.

The Australian 2/4th Field Ambulance set up a Main Dressing Station (MDS) at Soputa, inland from the fighting at Gona and Sanananda in a rubber plantation. The MDS was attacked by Japanese aircraft inflicting high casualties including 24 killed.

An Australian and United States military cemetery was located at Soputa. At the end of the war, the bodies were exhumed and reinterred elsewhere.