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Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 227, 26 September 1942, Page 5

BACK TO OWN LINES

AUSTRALIANS’ RETURN STRUGGLE THROUGH JUNGLE (Special Australian Correspondent—N.Z.P.A.) Sydney, Sept. 24. An Australian unit, cut off by the Japanese three weeks ago in the Owen 1 Stanley jungle fighting near Efogi, has returned to its own lines. Their achievement is described as “one of the finest stories of courage, endurance and comradeship to come out of New Guinea.” They brought with them 11 stretcher casualties whom they refused to leave behind to become prisoners even when the odds seemed impossible. Paths had to be cut through undergrowth so thick that progress was often reduced to half a mile a day. In one week the party covered five miles. The wounded had to be carried over mountains, down the sides of steep ravines and through jungle swamps. The average loss of weight was two stone. The men were haggard, but they had even shaved before returning to the front lines and their spirits were high. Frequently the party narrowlyavoided clashes with superior Japanese forces when they moved close to native villages hoping to find food. For many days their sole food was yams. One of the heroes of the escape was a sergeant, who carried a wounded comrade on his back up a precipitous cliff face when ascent by a stretcher party proved impossible. Witnesses of the incident said that several men were required to haul an empty stretcher up the cliff. The sergeant showed superhuman strength in carrying the helpless man up alone.