PRISONER TAKEN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20836, 15 July 1942, Page 5

PRISONER TAKEN

AIRMEN GN ISLAND JAP. ALSO MAROONED SYDNEY, July 7. Marooned on an island iii the Coral Sea after their plane had crashed three miles away, members of the cf.ew of an Allied bomber piloted by Lieutenants Johnson and Baker found a Japanese pilot also marooned there. They took him prisoner, reports Norrrian Stockton, war' correspondent of the Melbourne Herald. Corporal Donald Welch, of Berlin, New Hampshire, told the story in a convalescent home at ari Allied base, somewhere in Australia. “That Nippon was sure annoyed when we swam ashore,” said Corporal Welch. “He could speak a few words of English, and he approached us and asked us to kill him. Later he calmed down a bit, and told us that he had fought in Zeros throughout the Pacific, first in Malaya and then in Java.” Forced Into Sea. The bomber was forced into the sea when it ran out of petrol about 8 o’clock one flight. “It sank in about four minutes,” said Corporal Welch. “I came out through one of the windows which I smashed with my boot's. “Fortunately, someone had released our' dollapsible raft, arid we were Able to place the injured member of our cfew, Sergent Aubrey—he had dislocated his back—in it. The rest of us hung on to the sides and paddled our way to the beach. “It was raining 'buckets, but we managed to get a fire going and remained beside it all night. “The Japariese stayed with us. Next morning we started walking along the beach with our captive, ana pretty soon three canoes happened along. They took us and the Japanese aboard and landed us on the mainland. At a village we found another wounded pilot who was being cared for by the natives. Trek Through Jungle “We remained .there with our Japanese captive until the wounded man had recovered sufficiently to be transported. We placed Aubrey and the wounded survivor of the other plane in litters and carried them through the jungle to a deserted mission station. We were able to get transportation there back to an Allied base. “We hrnded the Japanese over to the authorities, and finally made our way back to our unit. “I got one or two scratches when we hit the water, but am just itching to get back on the job again. It won’t be long now.”