IN JAPAN

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 55, Issue 32672, 4 February 1946, Page 5

IN JAPAN

PAEROA BOY’S EXPERIENCE ATOMIC BOMB DAMAGE SEAMAN TEDDY McQUILLAN An interesting account of his experiences while in Japan and the impressions which he' had gained of that country are given by a Paeroa boy, Seaman Teddy McQuillan in letters written to his parents, Mi* and Mrs F. M. McQuillan, of Hill street, Paeroa. Writing from Yokohama on December 5, Seaman McQuillan states- that he had just returned after a fortnight’s- cruise of South Japan “We visited’ Ngagasaki and Sasebo and Shagashima. ' Ngagasaki is the place where the atomic bomb was dropped' and it sure is in a hang of a mess. There is hardly a thing standing and no buildings are left in the valley where the city one stood, but there are a few structures left on the hills. Only Bent Framework “You can see what once were big factories but only the framework stands and- even this is all bent over as if a whirlwind had- hit them. We were taken round the ruins in American truck's, the trip taking about an hour. “After we left Ngagasaki we went to Sasebo but I did not go ashore. Some of the boys went but they said it was not worth while going as there was nothing to see. The harbour is crammed with all kinds of ships including destroyers and minesweepers and even a fe-w floating docks. It reminded me of Guam a bit by the number of ships that were there. “From Sasebo we went to Shagashima where we stayed four days- but we did not go ashore as all that is left of the town is a few houses along the waterfront. All the rest is flattened. On the other .side of the harbour is an island with a big volcano on it and a small village. Wfe were allowed ashore there and last Sunday we climbed up the mountain. It is 3500 ft. high and it was pretty steep. We started the climb at about 10 o’clock and reached the top at about 1 o’clock although some of the- boys were up there by 12 o’clock. The mountain has two peaks and the first blew up in 191-3 and now is just a big lake which has been drained out. It reminded me a bit of Death Valley in California. The soil is a sandy substance and there is nothing growing at all. The other peak is still active but has not blown: up yet. When you' look into the crater you cannot see the bottom as there is too much steam and smoke. Lovely Gardens At the bottom of the mountain the Japanese have some lovely gardens, all in terraces and there are -thousands of orange and mandarin trees. The fruit was ripe while we were there so I have eaten enough to last me a fair while. We were not supposed to touch the fruit but you can tell how much notice the boys took of that as they came back on board with sugar bags full. We left Shagashima on Monday and proceeded to Yokohama.” Writing on December 15, Seaman McQuillan stated that he was still in Yokohama and beginning to get sick of it. “We are going to Hong Kong at the end of the month with the Aussie cruiser ‘Hobart.’ I think we are going into dry dock there but I don’t know how long we will be there. Holiday Resort Visited ■ln his letter dated Sunday, January 6, Seaman McQuillan advised that he was still in Yokohama but was due to sail for Hong Kong on January 10. He had had a good trip at the beginning of the week to Nikko, a holiday resort. He left with about 60 other boys at 4J30 a.m. and got to Nikko about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. There was tons of snow about and it was his first experience in snow. The town is situated at the bottom of a mountain and is a very, cold place. “We went to a Geisha House on the Monday night, that was New Year’s Eve and had a good time there watching the Japanese dances. The food they gave us was very poor and it nearly made me sick although the Japanese ate it alright. The girls could sing “Waltzing Matilda” in English as well as a number of Scottish songs. They said the Aussies taught them the songs. "When you go into a geisha house you have to take your shoes off and you get tired of it after a while. In the hotel there was no furniture in the room and we had to sleep on the floor. "We were given a sort of eiderdown for a mattress and then put bn a dressing gown

about the same' thickness. /We had another eiderdown 'to cover us. I slept in my clothes and was nice and warm after a while. Trip Up Mountain “On the Tuesday morning we left the hotel about '9 o’clock to have a look at the shrines. We saw four, all in honour of Buddha. There were some lovely carvings on them and I can tell you they were well worth seeing. I purchased a lot of photographs- of them and I will bring them home when I come. “We next took a tram to the bottom of the mountain and then by cable-car to about half-way up. We then went on buses for about a mile and a-half to a small township where there was a beautiful lake. At this point the snow was about 3ft. deep and I don’t know why people want to- live up there. We then went about 356 feet underground in a lift and after walking along a tunnel we saw a verylarge waterfall and when we were there it was all covered- in ice. We got back to our hotel about 3 o’clock and had our dinner, after which we went up town and bought a few things although they were a lot dearer than at Tokyo and Yokohama. “We left Nikko at about 12 o’clock the next day by train. All along the railway line and as- far as We could see the land was all cultivated, growing rice. There did -not seem to be any such thing as a fence between the gardens or at least I did not see any. The Japanese even had, gardens on the stop-banks of the rivers. Japanese Crowds “At one place called Ueno we had to change trains. You should see the Japanese crowd on to the drains. You would think they had only five minutes to live. They push and shove so much. Two of our boys happened to be standing in front of the door of the carriage when it opened and they were carried into the train and had no show of getting out. The worst of it was it was not our .train at all so we had to pick them up further down the line.. “’Christmas- was pretty quiet here. We had turkey for dinner and the Patriotic organisation gave us a bottle of Aussie beer and a packet of cigarettes so we weren’t badly off. **l see in the news that all the New Zealand boys in the Army should be home by the end of the month so it looks as if Johnny will be back before me. We are not due back before March, if we are lucky.” .