A few days later, an RAAF Hudson, its
fuselage riddled with bullet-holes, made an emergency landing at
Milne Bay. The crew of the old transport told of their narrow
escape when returning to the 7 Mile Dome at Port Moresby from a
reconnaissance flight. They found the airfield under attack by
Japanese bombers and Zeros. The raiders had the good fortune to
catch two USAIR squadrons standing wing-tip to wing-tip on the
ground. Several B.17's were destroyed along with many Dakota
‘biscuit bombers’ which were fully loaded with supplies bound for
Australian troops on the Kokoda Track.
Just over a week later, Milne Bay was put to
the test as the airstrips were nearing completion. One stormy
morning, Dan was pulled from his bunk before dawn and told the
Japanese had landed during the night on the north side of the bay.
Every available aircraft was being scrambled in the pouring rain to
attack the enemy before he established a beachhead.
The size of the invasion force became
horrifyingly clear when Dan took off, flying with one of the RAAF
Kitty hawk squadrons. As the pilots skimmed over the tree tops at
the edge of the airstrip, they saw the bay was alive with Japanese
transports and landing barges, disgorging troops and supplies onto
the beach. At once the P-40s began raking the invaders with machine
gun and canon fire, sinking many of the landing craft and
inflicting horrendous casualties. The air attacks continued all day
with the Kittyhawks never out of the sky for longer than it took to
refuel and rearm. Some planes concentrated on destroying barges and
the fuel and ammunition dumps the enemy had managed to established
on the beach, while others screamed over the jungle at tree-top
height, strafing Japanese soldiers closing in on the airstrips.
For the next two days the RAAF controlled the
air above Milne Bay but the situation on the ground became serious.
The rain just wouldn’t let up and the Allied forces, even though
bolstered by AIF troops, fought desperately to hold the airfields.
Not only were the enemy being reinforced by night, but light tanks
were also being landed, a tactic thought to be impossible because
of the soggy jungle terrain. Under heavy shelling and with no
protective armour, one AIF battalion was forced to withdraw. But by
the fourth day the rain had immobilized the tanks and the
Australians repeatedly repulsed enemy attacks on their positions
around the airstrips. They began beating the Japanese back into the
sea and after three more days of heavy fighting the Emperor’s
ground forces had suffered their first real defeat of the war.
Two days after the Battle for Milne Bay, Dan
was told to report to the CO of the engineer battalion. The CO told
him that because of the situation in New Guinea, he would not be
returning to Iron Range but was to proceed to the 7 Mile Drome at
Port Moresby which was under almost constant enemy attack. He also
told Dan that the Japanese had mounted a huge offensive at Isurava
on the Kokoda Track the same day as they launched their attack at
Milne Bay. The hopelessly outnumbered Australian troops, including
AIF reinforcements, were again retreating southward towards Port
Moresby. The word from RAAF and US Army Air Force in Port Moresby
was that they needed all the help they could get.
*
The troop train carrying the Nackeroos to
Mount Isa, took five days. Mount Isa was the end of the railway
line and it was also at the end of anything that vaguely resembled
a road. But it was the jumping off point for the vast Northern
Territory where tens of thousands of Allied troops were being
transported to bolster Australia’s northern defenses. When the
train arrived at the remote mining town, the Nackeroos were amazed
to find it bursting at the seams with thousands of black GIs.
From the railway station the Nackeroos were
taken to the Mount Isa racetrack to spend the night. They were
driven there by soldiers of an American transport battalion which
had all but taken over the town. After enduring the long train ride
from Brisbane with the barest of facilities, everyone was looking
forward to having their first showers and proper meal in almost a
week. But when they arrived at the racetrack they found it was just
a huge dust bowl used for the marshalling of convoys heading north.
In the area set aside for the Nackeroos there were no showers, no
latrines, not even any tents and the whole area was alive with
flies and other insects.
Faced with the prospect of spending the night
on ground sheets in the dust but having permission to go into town,
almost all the Nackeroos went looking for the nearest hotel to
drown their sorrows in cold beer. They were disappointed when they
found the pubs were full to overflowing with rowdy American
servicemen and it was impossible to get near enough to the bar to
get served. Just outside the doors of each establishment, black
American MPs stood with their fingers on their batons ready to
administer swift justice to anyone who became troublesome.
Joe and a small group of Nackeroos had given
up trying to get a drink and were drifting back to the racetrack
when Weasel decided to make one more attempt at getting a beer. He
stepped past two burly MPs standing outside a bar and tried several
times to squeeze through the crowd. Each time he was elbowed back,
sometimes none too gently, by soldiers who all stood head and
shoulders above him. The Weasel’s plight came to the attention of
the two MPs who stood watching him, grinning from ear to ear. After
a few moments one of the MPs walked up behind him.
‘What in Sam Hill are you trying to do here,
soldier?’ the MP growled.
Weasel spun around. The top of his head was
only a few inches higher than the MP’s thick white belt. But
Weasel’s face showed no fear. ‘If it’s all right with you, mate,’
he bellowed angrily. ‘I’d just like an Aussie soldier to be able to
get some bloody service in his own country,’
Joe winced as he awaited the Weasel’s fate.
But he was surprised when the MPs stern face suddenly broke into a
wide grin and he turned to the crowd, shouting: ‘All right you
dog-faces, let this fighting man through to the bar, otherwise I’m
gonna have to let him take each of you apart.’
The sea of soldiers parted, immediately
opening up a path leading to the bar. A minute later, face beaming,
Weasel walked back carrying a full tray of beer. The Nackeroos
eagerly reached for the brew. Weasel raised a foaming glass high in
the air in salute to the MPs. ‘Like I’ve always said,’ he
proclaimed loudly, ‘all Yank MPs are bloody gentlemen.’
*
Just after dawn the next morning, a convoy of
thirty-six US Army trucks carrying the Nackeroos left Mount Isa for
Larrimah. Each truck had two Negro drivers who were to alternate at
the wheel as the convoy drove non-stop for the next twelve hours.
During the twelve tortuous hours, the big dual-axle transports
didn’t pull up for anything, neither for meals nor even to let the
Nackeroos relieve themselves. With no road in existence westward
from Mount Isa to the dirt road running southward from Darwin to
Alice Springs hundreds of miles away, the convoy bounced along in
blinding, choking dust over rough tracks only recently bulldozed
through the bush by a US engineer battalion.
It took four days to reach Larrimah. The
emptiness of the vast Northern Territory was familiar country to
Joe. He was coming home. But for many of the Nackeroos the journey
was a sobering experience. Most of them were seeing the harsh,
desolate face of northern Australia for the first time, a strange
land few of their forebears had ever ventured into during nearly
two hundred years of white settlement. As the convoy passed through
undulating hills, rolling grasslands, endless plains and parched
scrub, without seeing a living soul except a few wandering
Aborigines, Joe could see from the faces of the Nackeroos that the
landscape was as alien to them as it was to their American
drivers.
The Nackeroos travelled the remaining hundred
miles from the railhead at Larrimah to their headquarters in
Katherine by rail in open stock wagons. The camp was located on a
pleasant site on the bank of the Katherine River and for the first
time since leaving Brisbane, everyone got proper showers and
regular meals. A few days after Joe’s contingent reached Katherine,
the balance of the force arrived from Ingleburn and senior officers
began organizing the men into various companies.
The force was broken down into four
companies. Each company was made up of a hundred and thirty-five
men. A, B and C Companies would be on active scouting duties in
small groups of four to six men each. Some would be in fixed
positions in coastal observation posts, others would patrol coastal
areas on horseback and still others would be aboard small vessels
plying the coast. All units would be linked, by an existing pedal
radio system, to townships, outback stations, coast watchers and
missions throughout the Top End.
The fourth Company, D Company, was to be a
reserve company based at headquarters in Katherine and kept as
reinforcements for the active companies in the event they suffered
casualties in engagements with the Japanese landing forces. The CO
told the Nackeroos that the company based at Katherine would
operate on a rotation system with the other companies to ensure the
more arduous field work was shared equitably.
Joe and Weasel were assigned to the same
platoon in A Company. It was being posted to southern Arnhem Land
which included much of the eastern and southern coasts of the Gulf
of Carpentaria and also the Roper River, which, with its one
hundred and sixty miles of navigable waters leading deep into the
Northern Territory, was considered to be a prime route for a
Japanese invasion force. The day the Company left by convoy for its
regional headquarters in Roper Bar, the men were issued with
standard equipment. Most of the items were regular soldier’s gear
relating to weaponry but there were some interesting additions,
including telescopes, semaphore flags, protective mosquito hats,
veils and gloves, axes, even fishing rods and shotguns to assist
them in living off the land.
Almost three hundred horses had been sent on
ahead to Roper Bar ready for use in mounted patrols. Officers had
estimated that each patrol of four to six men would require two
dozen horses to carry the patrol’s supplies of food and ammunition,
and also their radio equipment, batteries, and generators. Several
platoons were assigned Aboriginal trackers, recruited in Arnhem
Land. After the weeks and months of training and preparation, Joe
was glad when Company A finally left for Roper Bar.
*
Of the thousands of Australian civilians
employed by the United States Government throughout Queensland only
a very few worked in clerical positions at General MacArthur’s
headquarters in Brisbane. But to Faith, the large office block on
the corner of Edward Street and Queen Street seemed the logical
place to apply for a position. After stating her business to a
receptionist she was directed to a personnel office on the ground
floor.
‘People seeking employment with the United
States Government are generally required to be sent to us by the
Manpower, Miss Brodie,’ a staff-sergeant in personnel said. ‘They
supply our various departments around the state with clerical and
support staff and select the managers, cooks, waitresses and
cleaners we require for our post exchanges and just about everyone
else who is needed for anything. I’m sorry, but that’s the
procedure we are required to follow, unless of course you hold a
work release from a previous Manpower-approved employer.’
Faith took her release form from her bag and
the sergeant ran his eyes over it then invited her to sit down. She
then handed him some documents and references relating to her
employment with the Government of the Northern Territory at the
Darwin court house and waited while the sergeant read each one
carefully.
‘You seem to have the all qualifications
required by several departments here at HQ, Miss Brodie,’ the
sergeant said at last. ‘Would you wait here, please?’ He left the
room with Faith’s documents in his hand. After a short time he
returned. ‘We would be pleased to have you join our staff here,
Miss Brodie.’ The sergeant sat back down at his desk. ‘Just let me
explain our standard terms of employment and if you are in
agreement we would like you to start as soon as possible. Now, we
offer all employees a one year contract at rates of pay generally
higher than current Australian salaries. All employees receive free
medical attention, two to three weeks annual leave and access to
most American recreational and social facilities. You will however,
be required to work a forty-four hour week, forego many public
holidays you presently enjoy and there is no overtime pay.’ The
sergeant smiled apologetically. ‘And I’m afraid there’s plenty of
overtime around here.’
‘When would you like me to start? ‘Faith
asked without hesitation.
‘Tomorrow morning, at eight-thirty?’
‘Thank you, Sergeant, I’ll be here.’
‘Very well, Miss Brodie. When you arrive
please report to Major Lyle Hunter on the third floor.’
Faith reported for work with the Americans
half an hour early. When she identified herself at reception, a
soldier escorted her to the third floor and handed her over to a
staff sergeant with a name badge that read WELENSKI. Welenski asked
her to take a chair and wait. After a few minutes a slim,
fair-haired man in an immaculate uniform emerged from a private
office and walked over to her. Faith took him to be about thirty
years old.
'Good morning, Miss Brodie,' the officer
said.' I'm Major Lyle Hunter. We're very pleased to have you
aboard.'
The major led the way back to his office and
waved Faith into a chair. She looked around her as she sat down.
Everything in the office was as neat as a pin.