RESCUED GUERRILLAS

Grey River Argus, 26 September 1944, Page 5

RESCUED GUERRILLAS

SYDNEY, Sept. 23 Twenty-five men and an 18-year-old girl, who were rescued by American forces in Dutch New Guinea, had waged guerrilla warfare against the Japanese for two and a half years. They were the survivors of an original band of fifty-six. They had killed about forty Japanese, constantly harrassed enemy bases and destroyed installations. Dutchmen and Indonesians comprised the first members of the party, and these were later joined by some Americans who had made a hazardous voyage from Mindanao (Philippines). Heavy casualties were incurred when natives betrayed their hideout to the Japanese. When the survivors were found ■they were in a shocking stale. Lorn cloths were their only clothing, and their feet, which had been without shoes for many months, were a mass of blisters and sores. Now, under treatment, they wish to act as guides for the punitive Allied forces which are routing out the remnants of the beaten Japanese 2nd Army.