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READ, MASON, TASHIRO and the BOUGAINVILLE MYSTERY by Ken Wright [email protected]

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READ, MASON, TASHIRO and the BOUGAINVILLE MYSTERY by Ken Wright Wright9w@Optusnet.Com.Au READ, MASON, TASHIRO AND THE BOUGAINVILLE MYSTERY By Ken Wright [email protected] During World War 2, two groups of Australian Coast watchers operating independently of each other played a decisive part in the battle for Guadalcanal and the subsequent Allied advance through the South Pacific. The first group was led by W.J. [Jack] Read, an assistant district officer from near Buka Passage, a one kilometre wide sea passage separating the islands of Buka and Bougainville. The second group was led by Paul.E.Mason, the Inus plantation manager 75 kilometres North West of Kieta in Bougainville. The concept of the Coast watchers originally began in 1919 when selected personnel were organised on a voluntary basis to report in time of war any unusual or suspicious events along the Australian coastline. This concept was quickly extended to include New Guinea [not Dutch New Guinea] as well as Papua and the Solomon Islands. In 1939 when World War 2 commenced, approximately 800 Coastwatchers came under the control of the Royal Australian Navy Intelligence Division. Lieutenant Commander Eric Feldt had operational control of the Coast watchers in the north eastern area of defence which encompassed the Australian Mandated Territories, Papua, the Solomon Islands and Australia. While negotiations to avoid a possible war in the Pacific were taking place on December 7 1941 between Japanese and American diplomats, Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo launched, without an official declaration of war, a carefully planned and well executed surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Planes from the aircraft carriers, Akagi, Kaga, Koryu, Hiryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku, killed 2,350 Americans and severely crippled the US fleet. President Roosevelt told a stunned congress December 7 was, ‘a date which will live in infamy.’ The next morning, the Japanese attacked Malaya but this was before the attack on Pearl Harbour because of the International Dateline. The Emperor’s Imperial troops then invaded Hong Kong, the Philippines and continued sweeping all before them. Guam, Wake Island, the Netherlands East Indies, Rabaul, Malaya and Singapore, the colonial jewel of the British Empire. An enemy had arrived on Australia’s doorstep and the country was now at war with both Germany and Japan.. Rabaul was the peace time capital of the mandated Australian Territory of New Guinea. The 2/22 Battalion of about 900 men and 38 officers which formed the bulk of Lark Force had arrived on Anzac Day 1941. By December this number had increased to about 1,400 and was tasked with the impossible job of defending the capital. When the Japanese attacked Rabaul on 23 January 42 the READ, MASON, TASHIRO AND THE BOUGAINVILLE MYSTERY small garrison was overwhelmed and within hours Rabaul was under Japanese control. The Japanese made a public announcement of the capture of Rabaul on the afternoon of the 24th.It was now up to the Coast watchers plus the Independent Company men on Bougainville, the Government officers transferred into ANGAU (Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit), the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (who were doing much of the monitoring of the Japanese in Lae and Salamaua) to be the eyes and ears of the Allies. Another group of ‘spotters’ [New Guinea Air Warning Wireless Company] also stayed. Keith McCarthy, Alan Timperley and Ivan Champion and others who did so much to report what had happened after the fall of Rabaul and rescue the remnants of Lark Force were all pre-war field officers of Papua and New Guinea. The spotters had posts at Kokoda (from about February 1942), on the north coast of Papua, and in the Milne Bay Islands. They alerted Moresby to incoming aircraft and the landings at Buna and Gona. The 1st Independent Company was Australia’s first experimentation into British style commando operations. After initial training at Wilson’s Promontory on Victoria’s rugged coastline, they arrived at Kavieng in New Ireland on 24 July 1941. Between August and October, certain sections were reassigned to strategic locations on Manus Island, Tulagi Vila and Buka before the war with Japan began. No 3 section comprised 25 men commanded by Lieutenant Jack Mackie arrived on Buka Island on October 4 but the group were reassigned to Bougainville to help the Coastwatchers in their role after the Japanese attacked Kavieng on 23 January 42. 2 Early in July 1942 information about the construction of a large Japanese airstrip taking place on the island of Guadalcanal hurried the American amphibious move into the southern Solomons and on August 7, American forces totalling 19,000 mostly the 1st Marine Division, began landing on Guadalcanal and nearby Tulagi. The small Japanese garrison of 2,200 on Guadalcanal and 1,500 on Tulagi were taken completely by surprise and quickly scattered. In the days following the landings, Japanese air attacks severely interfered with the unloading of supplies. To make matters worse, the Japanese achieved a stunning naval victory off Savo Island in the southern Solomon Islands during the early morning of August 9. A group of powerful Allied cruisers was almost annihilated by a Japanese force obliged to travel hundreds of miles through waters that were patrolled by Allied reconnaissance aircraft. Given the air strength available to the Allies due to the presence of American aircraft carriers it was amazing that the Japanese were able to escape after the battle almost unscathed leaving more than a 1000 dead or missing Allied seamen in their wake. This defeat caused the American Admirals Fletcher and Turner to withdraw their forces leaving the Marines ashore on both Guadalcanal and Tulagi short of supplies and isolated. American engineers rushed to complete the partially constructed Japanese airfield now renamed Henderson Field and as soon as the airfield was completed, a squadron of 31 Marine aircraft arrived to provide direct support and air cover. Towards the end of August aircraft strength on Henderson field had been increased to almost 100. Throughout the island, clashes between American and Japanese patrols became more frequent and intensive as Japanese reinforcements and supplies began to 2 READ, MASON, TASHIRO AND THE BOUGAINVILLE MYSTERY arrive on Guadalcanal via the ‘Tokyo Express.’ This term was used by the Americans to describe the nightly runs by Japanese destroyers and light cruisers down the ‘slot,’ [the channel between the north-eastern and south-western chains of Solomon Islands] With the Americans also pouring men and supplies onto the island, the fighting on Guadalcanal escalated from short sharp exchanges between each others patrols into a larger vicious and hard fought battle for the control of what was now a strategically important island for both sides. To the Japanese, Guadalcanal was ‘Jigoku no shima’ [hells island] and to the Americans it was, ‘our time in hell.’ Slowly, the American forces gained more and more ground wearing the Japanese forces down. By the end of October, a large Japanese naval force had assembled in the Caroline Islands and began moving to launch a massive counter attack to retake Guadalcanal from the Americans. On the southern coast of Bougainville, the two groups of Australian Coast watchers led by Read and Mason independently radioed early warnings of a number of Japanese warship and aircraft movement’s enroute possibly towards Guadalcanal to the United States Navy. Read from his position inland reported twelve large passenger ships, each over 10,000 tons headed south-east. Mason, from his position at the southern end of Bougainville on 10 November 1942, reported the passage of sixty one ships comprising six assorted class cruisers, two sloops, thirty three destroyers, seventeen cargo, two tankers and one passenger liner of 8,000 tons. Forewarned by these reports, the U.S forces launched air and sea strikes against the enemy shipping resulting in a major defeat for the Japanese and shattered any hope of their retaking Guadalcanal. Now unable to resupply their forces, Japanese high ranking army and navy staff from the Imperial General Headquarters conceded that they had no hope of winning this particular battle and proposed Guadalcanal be abandoned and a new defensive line be established in the central Solomon’s. Emperor Hirohito gave permission for his troops to withdraw and from Dec 31, the Japanese began gradually withdrawing from the contest as to who owned the island and began evacuating their remaining forces from the island which they completed by early February 1943. As soon as it was confirmed the Japanese had left, US forces began preparations to continue their move slowly northwards towards Tokyo. It had taken a little over 6 months of vicious bloody fighting before the Americans were finally able to call the island theirs. Most American military historians write about Guadalcanal as a victory due to the tenacity and bravery of American soldiers, sailors and airmen which of course it was, but very rarely do they mention that it was the Australian Coastwatchers vital contribution which made the victory possible. Fortunately for recorded history, the Australians were paid a high tribute when the United States Admiral of the Fleet, William. F. Halsey Jr said; ‘The Coast watchers saved Guadalcanal and Guadalcanal saved the South Pacific.’ Additional praise was sent by other important American military commanders. On Saturday 3 April 1943, copies of congratulatory messages from Guadalcanal were sent to the Coastwatchers. ‘Have much pleasure relaying these to messages to Coastwatchers also thanking you on behalf of Naval Intelligence. Keep up the good work. From Admiral Turner, US Navy; ‘Large share credit our success against enemy due to splendid men in Coast watching service.’ From General 3 READ, MASON, TASHIRO AND THE BOUGAINVILLE MYSTERY Patch US Army; ‘Your magnificent and courageous work has contributed in great measure success of operation on Guadalcanal.’ With just these four congratulatory messages alone, there is no historical excuse not to give credit where credit is due.
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