princess-bluey
New member
On Monday 22nd April 2002, my then ten year old eldest son had a class assignment, which was to be completed before Anzac day.
My son rang his Grandad, my Dad, to ask about the war, but son did not understand much of what his Grandad was talking about, so I ended up talking to Dad. The following is a summary of his war experience...
"Dad joined the Army as part of the 39th Malicia Battalion, which was a unit of the 30th Brigade. He fought in the Second World War in Papua New Guinea against the Japanese. He was 27 years old and had joined the army just after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. The troops left Australia on 7th December 1941 aboard a ship called the ‘Aquitania’. They landed in Port Moresby on New Year’s Eve. The ship got stuck in the mud in the middle of the Bay and they had to unload all the troops and supplies onto smaller boats for the ship to float free. The boats docked at the wharf to unload. The troops then had to hike 7 miles to a place called Jackson’s Strip, which was a small aerodrome, to pick up supplies. The troops were then dispersed to different camps. Grandad was sent to a place called Bootless Bay. The troops then proceeded to march over the mountains on what is called the Kokoda Track.
The arms the infantry were issued with were 1/ Rifle- .303 calibre 2/ Pistol- Dad had a .38 Smith & Wesson 3/ Tommy gun- which was a 9mm Owen gun 4/ Hand grenades 5/ Mortars- which launched 3 inch projectiles. The Japanese infantry were issued with Rifles, Pistols, 4 inch mortars, mountain guns & machine guns nicknamed woodpeckers. (I've emphasised the firearms related bit, so I don't get in trouble!
)
The mountains they climbed over ranged in height from 2000 to 4000 metres and was quite steep and rugged in places. It was covered in dense rain forest; it was also hot and humid and rained often, as it was the middle of the wet season. As well as having to fight the Japanese, the prevailing conditions were ‘bloody horrible’ and a number of people caught tropical diseases like Malaria, Black Water Fever, Dengue Fever, and there were a couple of others that Dad couldn’t remember the name of. Dad caught Dengue Fever. Leaches were a severe problem and they got rid of the ‘blood sucking buggers’ by burning them off with a cigarette. For food, the men ate ‘bully beef’ and ‘dog biscuits’. A tin of meat and a packet of biscuits were shared between 3 men. Water had to be treated with chlorine to kill bacteria and every night each of the men had to take a Quinine tablet to prevent Malaria.
Out of 1,800 men, only 32 survived, of which Dad was one. Dad was injured fairly early in the battle by an exploding shell. He received shrapnel to his neck and head and was in Hospital in Port Moresby for a few months. His hearing was also impaired after the bomb blast. After he recovered, he was driving trucks and motor bikes as a messenger. (After Mum & Dad had moved to Lavington, Dad was experiencing back problems and went to the Chiropractor who gave him X-rays. The Chiropractor then refused to give Dad any neck adjustments, as there was still shrapnel lodged between his spine & jugular vein. Dad was advised to refrain from heavy exertion or lifting his arms above his head. It was rather ironic to discover this after sixty odd years of manual labour as a farmer and a mill hand at a rice mill!)
The troops were sent home for 2 weeks leave for Christmas in 1943. Dad then returned to Papua New Guinea on a ship called the ‘Nancy Adams’ and they landed at Aitape and fought down the coast to Wewak, as far as the Sepik River (the area that had been devastated by the Tsunami more recently). They returned home and landed in Brisbane on the 31st January 1946, Grandad was in Papua New Guinea for a total of four years.
Dad said it was damned horrible and bloody. If you got any blood on you, from holding your dyeing mate in your arms, then a couple of hours later your uniform would be fly blown & crawling with maggots. Dad was reluctant to talk about it; he was quite choked up and had trouble controlling his tears. Even now. 56 years later, the memories were painful and still fresh in his mind. He received 4 medals for his service."
We were both in tears by the time we'd finished the telephone conversation.
As a little girl, I remember watching Dad during the Anzac day service every year, and I used to wonder why he was crying... so now I know.
My son rang his Grandad, my Dad, to ask about the war, but son did not understand much of what his Grandad was talking about, so I ended up talking to Dad. The following is a summary of his war experience...
"Dad joined the Army as part of the 39th Malicia Battalion, which was a unit of the 30th Brigade. He fought in the Second World War in Papua New Guinea against the Japanese. He was 27 years old and had joined the army just after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. The troops left Australia on 7th December 1941 aboard a ship called the ‘Aquitania’. They landed in Port Moresby on New Year’s Eve. The ship got stuck in the mud in the middle of the Bay and they had to unload all the troops and supplies onto smaller boats for the ship to float free. The boats docked at the wharf to unload. The troops then had to hike 7 miles to a place called Jackson’s Strip, which was a small aerodrome, to pick up supplies. The troops were then dispersed to different camps. Grandad was sent to a place called Bootless Bay. The troops then proceeded to march over the mountains on what is called the Kokoda Track.
The arms the infantry were issued with were 1/ Rifle- .303 calibre 2/ Pistol- Dad had a .38 Smith & Wesson 3/ Tommy gun- which was a 9mm Owen gun 4/ Hand grenades 5/ Mortars- which launched 3 inch projectiles. The Japanese infantry were issued with Rifles, Pistols, 4 inch mortars, mountain guns & machine guns nicknamed woodpeckers. (I've emphasised the firearms related bit, so I don't get in trouble!
)The mountains they climbed over ranged in height from 2000 to 4000 metres and was quite steep and rugged in places. It was covered in dense rain forest; it was also hot and humid and rained often, as it was the middle of the wet season. As well as having to fight the Japanese, the prevailing conditions were ‘bloody horrible’ and a number of people caught tropical diseases like Malaria, Black Water Fever, Dengue Fever, and there were a couple of others that Dad couldn’t remember the name of. Dad caught Dengue Fever. Leaches were a severe problem and they got rid of the ‘blood sucking buggers’ by burning them off with a cigarette. For food, the men ate ‘bully beef’ and ‘dog biscuits’. A tin of meat and a packet of biscuits were shared between 3 men. Water had to be treated with chlorine to kill bacteria and every night each of the men had to take a Quinine tablet to prevent Malaria.
Out of 1,800 men, only 32 survived, of which Dad was one. Dad was injured fairly early in the battle by an exploding shell. He received shrapnel to his neck and head and was in Hospital in Port Moresby for a few months. His hearing was also impaired after the bomb blast. After he recovered, he was driving trucks and motor bikes as a messenger. (After Mum & Dad had moved to Lavington, Dad was experiencing back problems and went to the Chiropractor who gave him X-rays. The Chiropractor then refused to give Dad any neck adjustments, as there was still shrapnel lodged between his spine & jugular vein. Dad was advised to refrain from heavy exertion or lifting his arms above his head. It was rather ironic to discover this after sixty odd years of manual labour as a farmer and a mill hand at a rice mill!)
The troops were sent home for 2 weeks leave for Christmas in 1943. Dad then returned to Papua New Guinea on a ship called the ‘Nancy Adams’ and they landed at Aitape and fought down the coast to Wewak, as far as the Sepik River (the area that had been devastated by the Tsunami more recently). They returned home and landed in Brisbane on the 31st January 1946, Grandad was in Papua New Guinea for a total of four years.
Dad said it was damned horrible and bloody. If you got any blood on you, from holding your dyeing mate in your arms, then a couple of hours later your uniform would be fly blown & crawling with maggots. Dad was reluctant to talk about it; he was quite choked up and had trouble controlling his tears. Even now. 56 years later, the memories were painful and still fresh in his mind. He received 4 medals for his service."
We were both in tears by the time we'd finished the telephone conversation.
As a little girl, I remember watching Dad during the Anzac day service every year, and I used to wonder why he was crying... so now I know.
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