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On Active Service: a range of books about the 3 Services in W W 2. A Digger History site. |
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This page is from the book "As You Were". (1948) |
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Occupation; Reverie in Hiroshima; Nip Infanteer; Soldier; Victory Sing-Sing |
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Repatriated Prisoner-of-War is Processed by Stella Bowen |
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THE OCCUPATION |
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| MORE than two
years have elapsed since Stamford Victory, Taos Victory and Pachaug Victory, navigating the winding channels between the misty islands of the Inland Sea, brought the Australian
component ,of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force to Kure, Japan. Other components followed. The ceremonial breaking of the colours was performed at ten o'clock on the morning of 12
April 1946, when the flags of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and India fluttered in the breeze from the steel tower above the British Commonwealth Base Headquarters in Kure. The Occupation had commenced. Much has been done by the British Commonwealth Occupation Force during its sojourn in Japan. Its main function, the demilitarization of this country within the BCOF area of responsibility and the complete destruction of its war potential, is nearing completion. Ships, planes, weapons and materials used in the prosecution of the war have been destroyed or converted to other uses, most of the work having been carried out by Japanese under the supervision of Army personnel. However, occasional caches of arms are being located from time to time in the BCOF area. In April 1948 sufficient were found near Matsue to equip a regiment. Packed in grease and wrapped in tarpaulins they had been buried. Over the spot a shrine to the war god Hachiman was erected to conceal the hiding place. By precept and example the Force has endeavoured to instil in the Japanese the principles of democracy and justice. This applies particularly in Provost Courts where Japanese are tried by BCOF officers for offences committed against the Occupation. Here the accused is innocent until he is proven guilty. Nevertheless the police, still a very potent body in Japan, have been known to hold a defendant in gaol for weeks before bringing him to trial. One of the most notable changes during the past eighteen months has been the vast improvement in the troops' housing, accommodation and amenities. Modern barracks have been erected in many areas, houses have been built for dependants, old buildings have been restored, heating systems put into operation. The conditions now do not even remotely resemble those existing in those bleak days of February 1946, when the first draft of Australian troops arrived in these devastated areas after a 2ooo-mile voyage from Morotai. With the completion of many barracks it has been possible to return buildings to the Japanese. From many targets throughout the BCOF area came quantities of high explosives, weapons and ammunition-approximately 110,000 tons in all, which included approximately 10,000 depth charges and torpedo warheads, 1,287 torpedoes, 278 midget submarines, 100 18-in. and 100 16-in. naval guns, a large quantity of 4-in., 12-in. and 8-in. guns and a quantity, not large, of small arms. The work of destruction and disposal was carried out by the officers and men of the 10th Australian Bomb Disposal Platoon. It was BCOF's most dangerous operation. One loaded barge was blown sky-high, killing one young Australian soldier, Albert George Bramley, and a number of Japanese. For rescuing the Japanese struggling in the water an Australian corporal, James Ronald Sewell, was awarded the George Medal. He was destined never to receive it, for nearly twelve months later, as Sergeant Sewell, he was killed whilst delousing a mine on Shikoku. He was the only man to receive a decoration for devotion to duty whilst on service with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. On Okunoshima, mystery island of the Inland Sea, 18,162 metric tons of poisonous war gases were destroyed by burial, burning or sinking at sea. These, believed to have been intended for defensive purposes only, would undoubtedly have reaped a grim toll had Allied beachhead landings been necessary for the final assault on Japan. This undertaking, one of BCOF's greatest, was called "Operation Lewisite". Through the D.E.E. Section large quantities of engineers' and medical stores, fuels, clothing, drugs, precious metals and scrap have been returned to the Japanese Home Ministry to be used for industrial and domestic purposes. Some of the machinery, earmarked for reparations, may find its way to Australia; some has been shipped already to the Netherlands Indies.
Army patrols by land and by sea, carried out in co-operation with units of the British Commonwealth Air Force known as BCAIR and units of the R.N., R.A.N., R.I.N. and U.S.N., all combined to suppress illegal immigration and smuggling, particularly that in which the Koreans were involved. BCOF surveillance teams have been operating with American
Military Government and the Japanese police in a determined effort to eliminate
black-marketing in all fish and vegetable products.
The British Commonwealth area of responsibility remains the same, consisting of nine
prefectures -Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane, Tottori, Okayama, Kochi, Tokushima, Ehime, Kagawa, the four last-mentioned being on the
un-garrisoned island of Shikoku. The population is approximately ten millions, the area 20,482 square miles. "QUEENSLANDER", SECOND A.I.F. |
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REVERIE IN HIROSHIMA |
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| AMIDST the debris and rubble of thousands
of ruined homes stand the empty and battered shells of once substantial concrete buildings, stark reminders of the new power which man has discovered, and of which man himself is now afraid. The atom bomb killed more people, wrecked more buildings, and devastated a much greater area than any manmade explosion has ever done before. In the old castle grounds, beside the moat, stands a solitary Australian, badly mutilated by the blast, but still much alive, giving the appearance of hopefulness for the future and determination to obliterate the unpleasant past. Nearly all the branches of this blue gum tree were blown off, but, with the recuperative powers of its species, it has burst into leaf covering with a bushy top of foliage most of the scars the bomb inflicted on it. There it stands, a sentinel, indicative of the -spirit of the new Hiroshima which is about to rise out of the ashes of the old, breaking away from the traditions and shackles of the past, to be one of the best planned cities in the world. Elsewhere in those castle grounds a unique and astonishing service was held, a combined Christian and Shinto dedication of the ground on which the children's new cultural centre is to stand. Christian and pagan united in a worthy cause. The project, when built, would grace any city in any country of the world. The white domed roofed hall alone, costing 6,5oo,ooo yen, will cover an area of i8oo square yards. There will also be a library, class and craft rooms and dormitories. In the theatre there will be pictures daily and concerts and fairy tale meetings frequently. For recreation there will be tennis courts, playing grounds for various sports, swimming pool and gymnasium. It will have a medical staff to keep constant watch on the children's health. Ample provision will be made among buildings for lawns, gardens and tree reserves. On the river bank another tree stands, small and bare at present, still bound in straw, a babe in swaddling clothes. In fact, that is all it is, a young tree transplanted with great ceremony in the exact spot over which the Japanese consider the atomic bomb burst; Hiroshima's peace memorial standing in the midst of six square miles of desolation which bear witness to Japan's folly. It is to be hoped that as the young tree takes root, outgrowing the need of the straw which must protect it during the winter months, the ideal of a peaceful Japan and a democratic way of life will become firmly ingrained into at least the younger generation, enabling them to outgrow the warped conception of the nation's destiny which was the forerunner of the disaster. G. M. HOLLIS, SECOND A.I.F. |
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"Personally I see him as a 1/50th of a second with an F16 aperture" |
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NIP INFANTEER |
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| 0N a cushion on the
tatami mats squats Shigeo Nakano, smoking his long brass pipe and
warming his hands over a few pieces of glowing charcoal in the hibachi at his side.
During the dav he has been wearing Western dress at the Hiroshima Foreign Trade
Corporation where he is employed. In his home, however, he prefers the traditional garb of
Japan. His kimono of grayish-brown is tied at the waist with a black sash. There was a time, not long ago, when Shigeo Nakano was a Nip infanteer on the island of Bougainville. The room in which he sits is simple, austere, but in spite of this has a homely atmosphere. A well-stocked bookshelf fills one of the corners. On a low table near the wall is a bronze vase filled with sprays of plum blossom. As his wife is at present in Okayama, it was Nakano-san himself who arranged those blooms in a manner both artistic and beautiful. But the shogi or semi-transparent paper used in the windows of the room is in poor condition. The panels have been damaged. The ceiling of the room has been shattered - a mute reminder of the commencement of the Atomic Age for, situated on the outskirts of Hiroshima, this house is one of only four in the neighbourhood which withstood the blast of the atom bomb. Surrounding it are the weather-stained unpainted hovels erected by a population in desperate need of shelter. The narrow street is littered with broken tiles and other remnants of the many homes, destroyed by blast and flame. Nakano-san Joined the Japanese Army in 1940 when the Australian Divisions were sailing for the Middle East. He would have been far happier had he continued working for the firm of rayon exporters which had a branch in Melbourne. However, the war lords who ruled his country had other plans for this 22-year-old shipping clerk and, after four months' training at Okayama, he embarked at Ujina with the 81st Regiment of the 17th Japanese Division for Shukien in North China. His rank was private, second-class. Nakano-san did not like China although his division was victorious there. He would have liked to return to his family in Japan but he sailed instead, in October 1943, in a convoy bound for Rabaul. By this time news was trickling through that the Japanese Army had met with some reverses in the South Pacific; but the 81st Regiment, all seasoned troops, were confident that they would stem the enemy's advance and do their share in extending Nippon's influence far south into the Pacific. When a U.S. submarine prowling around in the vicinity of the Luchows sank one of the crowded transports, causing 1,500 deaths, of which 1,000 were from his division, the troops were less confident and less enthusiastic concerning the war in the green jungles, of which they had heard but little and knew even less. Their enthusiasm waned still more when Australian and American bombers made a consolidated attack near Rabaul and the sea transport had to be abandoned; but not before the troops had transferred to the cruiser Minazuki which landed them in Rabaul on 3 November 1943. The landing at Tarina in North Bougainville -was without opposition. L.S.T.s and barges carried the 81st Regiment from Rabaul With one battalion each from the 53rd and 54th Regiments and the 23rd Artillery Regiment. By then Nakano-san was a lance corporal. After landing, they found the warehouses still blazing as the result of an air attack. Of the twelve months' supplies stored there by the advance party sufficient remained for only three months. The battalions which landed formed the '7th Japanese Brigade, the Divisional H.Q. of which remained at Rabaul; but, being isolated, it soon became a separate entity and established its own command. Drawing a remarkably accurate map of New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland and the Solomons, Nakano-san illustrated how the I 7th Japanese Brigade marched down the west coast of Bougainville in preparation for the counter-attack on Torokina where the U.S. Army Air Force was in the process of making a drome. The 6th Japanese Division, driven north from New Georgia by the U.S. Forces, had established its headquarters at Buin on the south coast of Bougainville. "The plan," Nakano-san explained through interpreter Kazuomi Monimoto, "was for the 17th Japanese Brigade to strike south-west from Numa Numa; for the 6th Division to strike northwest from Buin and recapture Torokina in a sort of pincer movement. This would have been quite successful had it not been for Australian Infanteers and U.S. Army Air Force. Torokina was not recaptured and the 17th Japanese Brigade retreated to Numa Numa and thence to Tarina. "For some months after our retreat," Nakano-san continued, "there was not much activity. Sometimes Australian or American planes machine-gunned our camps when smoke was observed rising from jungle clearings. It was not long before shortage of food became our greatest problem. Up to the end of 1943 we were on friendly terms with the natives of the west coast south of Tarina, who, whilst Japanese stocks of tobacco and edibles lasted, supplied us with eggs, clams, tropical fruits, sweet potatoes, taro, tapioca and sago. "The natives taught us also how to build bush huts and how to make sac-sac thatching from the leaves of the sago palm. We lived in these huts but had no blankets and only our company commanders had mosquito nets. "Conversation with the natives was carried out in 'pidgin English'. Japanese Military Police prepared a vocabulary of pidgin words and these, printed in Romani and Japanese characters, appeared in book form for distribution to the troops." It would seem, however, from what Nakano-san said, that "pidgin English" as spoken by the sons of Nippon, could be seldom understood by the boongs of Bougainville. In other places, however, successful use of pidgin by Japs was reported. "After we had been on Bougainville for some months," Nakano said, "we had no food left and our clothing and boots were rotten with jungle damp. I had malaria four times. I had to go barefoot. We had no medicines or drugs and the sick troops would lie down in their shelters until they recovered - or until they died. Generally they died. "Over towards the Laruma River Australians had loud speakers attached to some of the trees and used to broadcast in Japanese: 'Now let's quit fighting between 8 and 10 o'clock and come across here and we shall give you a feed.' We certainly would have liked to have something to eat but the Australians wanted us to surrender first and we were afraid to do so. "During 1944 our food position grew steadily worse. We were reduced to eating snakes, lizards, beetles, jungle fruits and coconuts. Sometimes we would catch a cuscus or a rat and would eat them too. We had no rice. Later, we planted rice but it was not like that which is grown in Japan. It did not require irrigation. The seeds were supplied to us by the 6th Japanese Division. Enemy planes used to spray the rice-plots with oil but that grown by our company at Numa Numa was not damaged because the wind carried the oil away before it landed. We harvested only one crop of rice and that was after the surrender. "Making fire for cooking and for condensing sea water for salt was a difficult and involved process. We used wire, saw-fashion, on very dry wood. The friction would create sufficient heat to start the wood smouldering. We would then place a piece of magnesium tape, removed from a shell case, against the wood and this would ignite and be applied immediately to a bundle of very dry shredded coconut fibre we would have in readiness. This in turn would burst into flame and with it we would light our fire. "While our headquarters were at Tarina," Nakano-san continued, "we used to cut down coconut palms to get the nuts and used also to eat the inner crowns of the trees." "Millionaires' salad," I exclaimed, recalling that some Australians, too, have eaten that rich and rare delicacy which is found in the heart of the inner leaves, but removal of which kills the tree. Millionaires' salad is delicious but Nakano-san and his mates ate it until it made them sick. For those palms which were destroyed the Japanese Government will be making reparations, just as the Australian Government is paying war damage for trees destroyed by Australian troops. "Our brigade had an isolated detachment of troops at Buto," Nakano-san said. "Australian infantrymen used to come up the coast by barge to a place called Kuraio where there were abandoned native gardens. The reconnaissance completed, they would bury the unused rations and return by barge. Soon after the Australians had departed we would visit the gardens and dig, up the tins of bully beef and ration chocolate which we regarded as very good indeed. Some of us used to say how kind it was of the Australian Government to provide the Japanese Army with food. "Australian infantry pushing up the coast caused us to retreat from Tarina. We retreated down the east coast to Numa Numa. We did not encounter any native troops and saw very few natives as most of them had left that area. During our retreat, and particularly between Tenbutsu and Telkon, a fair number of our troops were killed by native women. The women would creep into the jungle shelters and kill them as they slept, generally with axes or machetes. It was considered very humiliating for a Japanese soldier to be killed by a black woman. "We established our lines of defence between Numa Numa and the Laruma River. We had no food except jungle fruits but sometimes we stole rations from the Americans at Torokina. That would be about mid-1944. The Americans seemed to be there for the express purpose of building a drome. We used to steal only during heavy rains when the Americans would retire to their billets and leave the dumps, messes and cook-houses deserted. We would sneak into the camps and carry tinned food away. We were always very careful because we knew that had we been seen we would have been killed. "Our condition went from bad to worse. Weapons were rusty and we lacked the oil to clean them. Out of every five cartridges one only would fire. The Australians always attacked in small parties and at irregular intervals and would always retire immediately after an attack. We had a light machine gun, rifles and bayonets and we knew they had a small light automatic gun which was very useful for jungle fighting. "After our boots had worn out or rotted with the jungle moisture we had to go barefoot. Some of the troops who had been farm boys plaited 'wariji' or Japanese sandals for themselves, not out of rice-straw but from banana fibre. Many of us learned how to weave this type of footwear, but it was of little use for marching or for wearing under muddy conditions. "We had no recreations - and no time for any. All our time was spent in seeking food. We could not send any mail to Japan or receive any. Each morning we would bow our heads towards the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, a custom which was observed by Japanese troops at home and overseas. We had one wireless receiving set at our Brigade Headquarters. News of importance would be written out there and copies of it distributed by sub-unit commanders to the troops. "During the latter part of 1944 and during 1945 Australian planes dropped many propaganda leaflets over our positions. Some of these were intended for the natives, who were told to stay away from the Japanese. These were unnecessary because we had no native guides, no carriers-the Australians had them all. The natives would not work for us because we had nothing with which to pay them. "Some of the leaflets depicted Japanese soldiers in P.O.W. camps eating delicious foods and Japanese soldiers in the jungle eating grass and leaves. Whenever we saw these our stomachs would be upset but we were afraid to surrender because of the disgrace it would bring to our families in Japan. "One of these leaflets had been prepared by a Japanese officer who was a P.O.W. at Finschhafen. He said that he was being well treated and that it would be best for all of us to surrender. We felt ashamed of this officer but we were envious of him, too, for he had a full belly whilst we were very hungry. But we were still afraid to surrender. "Some of the leaflets told of enemy landings in the Pacific. We knew that the Philippines had fallen. The leaflets were written in a friendly and amusing style. We were forbidden to read them and were supposed to hand them to our headquarters. However, we read avidly anything written in Japanese for we were without literature of any kind. Although we used to tell ourselves that the leaflets were not true we found that they were more accurate than the Japanese radio news which we used to get. I was a lance-corporal during all this time for I was not made a sergeant until after the surrender. We did not get much information regarding the progress of the war. Most of us realized soon after our arrival in Bougainville that we were fighting a losing battle in that theatre. At last the day came -in August 1945- when, after a period of inactivity, leaflets were dropped telling us that the war was over. Planes flew low over our positions with the words 'Japan Surrenders' painted on the underside of the wings. At this time each man in the regiment had about sixty rounds left but our artillery ,vas out of ammunition. "Of the four thousand troops who sailed from Shanghai less than two years before only 170 of the originals had survived and we were ragged and starving. "I was at our 2nd Battalion Headquarters at Tokoperapaia after the surrender when an Australian officer and four Australian soldiers arrived there. Our battalion commander, a major, had us stand to attention and he and his three officers saluted the Australians. I acted as an interpreter for I was the only one there who knew any English and my own knowledge of the language was very scant indeed. Although we had no reason for liking them we were struck by the general good bearing and the courtesy of the Australians and we noted that when they arrived at our commander's quarters the Australian officer removed his belt and holster before entering. "Except for bananas and papaws we had nothing we could offer them in the way of food. We sliced the tops off some coconuts and the Australians drank. One of them held a coconut up and said, 'Well, here's to peace, anyway', and several of the Japanese officers, comprehending what he meant also drank the toast 'To peace' in the milk of coconuts. "For us the war had ended," said Nakanosan. ALAN QUEALE, SECOND A.I.F. |
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THE SOLDIER |
KEVIN E. COLLOPY, R.A.A.F. |
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VICTORY SING-SING |
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THE first to arrive are the
Daihungeis, led by Sem their tul-tul, a shrewd old villain, well versed in all the legitimate means of
greasing the unwary official.
Today he is resplendent in a green lap-lap, his face made hideous by streaks of orange paint and his eyes ringed with charcoal black. |
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| Tied to his wrists
and ankles and around the calves of his legs are miniature pas-pas, laboriously worked from
teased rope and plaited grass. He halts his party on the brow of the hill and looks them over
with a critical eye. From the opposite direction comes sound of revelry, and where the track enters the jungle there suddenly appears a blaze of colour and the rhythmic movement of black bodies. Heimai leads the Musinau. troupe, whooping and prancing like some medieval jester. Heimai is a puk-puk, being afflicted with that peculiar type of ringworm known as girili, which though unsightly, appears to have little physical effect. He is bubbling over with animation, talks like an auctioneer and probably tells as many lies. Heimai is a "man bilong sing-sing". especially when a benevolent government is providing the wherewithal. The able-bodied from other villages arrive during the afternoon, many having set out the previous day. Here are the representatives from Musendai, Musembilum, Samark, Saihik, Samasai, Yauatong, Yagrumbok, Perembil and Pelnandu, all led by their village officials, an amazing array of variegated colours, costumes and bilas. They remain separated in their various language groups and busy themselves with their decorations-cockatoo and kumul (Bird of Paradise) plumes, foot powder (discarded by troops), gaily coloured flowers and grass, pig grease and vegetable paints. The air is heavy with the pungent odour of animal fat and unwashed bodies, and the Tower of Babel heard no more "divers tongues". I had arranged a sports meeting for the afternoon, the "dropping zone" being set aside as the arena. However, the arrival of three "balus bilong trowei kago", which proceeded to "trowei" their loads with fine disregard for life or limb, put an abrupt end to all feats of strength and demonstrations of prowess with bunara and sipia. I felt obliged, however, to present a trade knife to the manki who led the field by half r furlong in the frantic scramble to escape the cascade of tinned and crated manna which fell from heaven. With an eye for the dramatic, he has awaited the psychological moment to make an impressive entry.
P. E. FIENBERG, SECOND A.I.F. |
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"What a unique appendectomy incision!" |
