Coast- Watchers And Loyal Natives Struck At Japs From Bush Hideouts

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 237, 6 October 1945, Page 8

Coast- Watchers And Loyal Natives Struck At Japs From Bush Hideouts

By NOEL HOLMES <g Auckland Star War Reporter BOUGAINVILLE, Sept. 27. '"THREE enemy from Kupei raid- * ing native gardens. One stopped an arrow and then there were two." That was the text of a signal received by the R.N.Z.A.F. at Torokina, Bougainville, on February 15 of this year. No one was greatly surprised. Laconic reports tapped out deep in the jungle from behind enemy lines were being received every day, giving details of Jap movements, strength, armament and disposition, and telling also of forays, hit-and-run affairs, made with the advantage of surprise. This was the work of the coastwatchers, a shadowy body of men picked for their knowledge of the area, familiarity with native languages and customs, and for their

daring. Information which they sent out by means of portable wireless sets provided a basis for' at least 50 per cent of the. New Zealanders' air strikes.

Theirs was not the type of work' to hit the headlines. For obvious security reasons no mention of coastwatchers could be made while the war was on, and even now the greater proportion of the stories these men can tell will never be printed. The coastwatchers, in any case, were far from publicity-conscious. Seldom did they come within the Allied perimeter at Torokiria, and when they did they were invariably found to be taciturn men, unaccustomed to conversation and unwilling to speak of their life in the jungle. Some of them even gave the impression that they were uneasy amid the comparative civilisation of Torokina. The continuous streams of traffic along the wide, dusty roads; the hustling life of the huge Allied camps; the unaccustomed

jollity of the typical family life carried on in the messes; and the almost uninterrupted roaring of aircraft engines from the Piva strip—all these things are apt to be confusing to a man who has been living in the dead quiet of the jungle for months on end, knowing himself to be surrounded by the enemy and knowing that a false move would mean death —or worse. "Give me a dozen good 'boongs' and I'll take the jungle any day," said one of them. "It's a lot safer out there," he added. Rid Of Red Tape He was serious about it. His natives, he claimed, could smell a Jap yards away, and in his jungle hideouts a man could at least have some peace and be rid of the red tape and formality of headquarters. That is why these bearded, uncommunicative men were seldom seen by the airmen and troops they were assisting. It is also partly the reason why the full story of the coastwatchers will never be told. But something of their activities can be found in a quick examination of an old coastwatcher signals file: In July of this year one coastwatcher was taking a keen interest in the 17th Jap Army headquarters. He pinpointed the position and called for an air strike on the wellhidden target. "Scouts state unable to enter "17th Army headquarters area on account constant firing of machine-guns and rifles in all directions," came the message over the air soon after the planes returned. "Numerous fresh graves seen, some decorated with flowers in bottles, as placed on graves of high-ranking officers." And later: "Raid highly successful. Area completely .bombed out. No sign of commanding general's hut or remains of other buildings seen." Lucky To Be.Alive These messages explain the uncanny precision—or so it must have seemed to the Japs—with which R.N.Z.A.F. Corsair pilots hounded high-ranking officers and their headquarters. Time and again a headquarters unit would be bombed out, would hurriedly evacuate to a new area and would be no sooner settled in than it would be bombed out again. Lieutenant-General Kanda, commanding Jap forces on Bougainville, is thought to be the most-bombed general in the world and is certainly very lucky to be alive. In an effort to escape the Corsairs he moved in a series of leaps and bounds all over south Bougainville during the past 3~ear, but the coastwatchers seldom lost him for long. Occasionally, the R.N.Z.A.F. was able to repay some of the debt owed to the coastwatchers. Earlier this year, for example, one coastwatcher found a force of 200 Japs on his tail. In an unflurried message he gave map references. The.Corsairs paid a visit and were happy to receive a message which read: "Beaut strike. Thanks for prompt action." The signals sometimes gave an intriguing glimpse of what must have been striking little tableaux. For instance: "Two Nips shot near Piarino whilst washing cow in stream."

"Enemy and scouts walked into t each other at 0715 hours. Fire fight t ensued. We suflerea no casualties. e Enemy believed to have suffered | some." a "Tug-of-war between Nips and scouts on telephone line which was „ cut at Aku resulted in one Nip being shot when party arrived to investigate. Owing to constant repairs to ~ line enemy has removed all three lines on east-west trail." r "Following good underground work by native police boy, the leading pro-Jap native, King Korp, has been executed by the Japs." Nearly every signal received suggested an interesting story in the s background, but the coastwatchers a never elaborated. They gave the e bald facts and let it go at that. Accompanying them always were a native police boys and local parti- '• sans. These natives were in their l- element in the type of guerilla wari fare demanded of them. Most of all 7 they delighted in setting booby traps, e A fair idea of their success can be e gained from the following reports. ® Crouched By Road "Twelve Nips killed by jungle mine t on east-west trail on June 12. Large ; number enemy arrived on scene and 1 buried dead. Enemy party then pro- [. ceeded east again for 200 yards when .they sprung a second mine, killing i 13. These bodies also buried beside t road. Nip party then reluctant to 1 proceed further and scouts reported 2 party still crouching beside road at * sundown." i "One shrapnel mine taken by i enemy to Omitaro. Japs observed i attempting to delouse mine, which exploded, killing seven. Japs now using armed natives as scouts ahead l of patrols and walking in bush on f sides of track." "One booby trap in native basket placed in garden. Found by one Jap who took it to house. Five Nips gathered round basket, opened it— four killed, two badly wounded." "Booby trap placed in Jap tin hat 3 between Mivo and Mobiai rivers. - Nine enemy rested near trap. They i gathered round and picked it up. . Six killed, three badly wounded." * A Mixed Lot T 1 Signals such as these were all that t filtered through from Jap territory to tell how the coastwatchers were - living. They were a mixed lot—Aus- , tralians, Englishmen, New Zea--1 landers and others—Government 7 officers, planters, miners, soldiers, t But they had this in common—they 1 knew how to live in the "bush" and * they didn't talk unnecessarily. 5* But those who know something of the background of the Pacific campaign will tell you that their work j was important, that our casualties » would have been much heavier and 3 Nip casualties much lighter had they not been operating out there in the * bush. Corsair pilots will add that 5 many targets would never have been found had it not been for smoke 2 fires, brightly-coloured lap-laps (loini cloths) or white panels surrounding ■' the area to be bombed.

They were men who risked their lives daily and thought nothing of it. Death was a commonplace. They were continually on the move and security was unknown to them. Those who knew them will never forget them.