The Baldwin sisters arrive at Ike's for a 'tank of gas' but gasoline rationing was in effect until just after the war ended and they would have been rationed to four gallons per week.
John Boy says that the Japanese soldiers who are holding Ben are accustomed to the hot jungle climate. This not likely because Japan itself has a climate that ranges from continental to subtropical, similar to that of the US.
If Cindy thought Walton's Mountain was so 'hot and pasty' they she would not be wearing long bib overalls with a longsleeved shirt buttoned up to her neck.