The Digger of Kokoda by Daniel Lane

Author:Daniel Lane
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Published: 2022-05-18T00:00:00+00:00

18

The Expendables: Milne Bay

Coming into Milne Bay there is a little island before you get there – Samarai – we thought ‘oh this looks good.’ We came into this big harbour and saw these coconut trees right down to the beach . . . it looked lovely until you got in there.

Sergeant Errol Jorgenson, 2/25th Australian Infantry Battalion

After weeks of working in the stifling hulls of the ships that we helped to unload, C Coy received word that we were bound for a place called Milne Bay. It was situated on the furthest point of the island’s south-eastern corner, 360 kilometres east of Port Moresby, and it was a deepwater harbour. We received these orders at a time when the rumour mill suggested the Japanese were preparing to invade somewhere in Papua New Guinea. Indeed, some officers warned there was the possibility that the enemy could even be lying in wait for us at our isolated outpost. Take it from me, I wasn’t the only soldier who stood on the wharf on the day of our embarkation feeling as though we’d been marked as ‘expendable’ by our military’s High Command. Our officer in charge was told that we’d be on our own if the Japanese invaded because there were no men, ships, or planes available to assist us. The 55th’s orders were to hold the Japanese for as long as possible before making our way back to Port Moresby via the coast. If we survived the first few weeks after arriving at Milne Bay – or ‘Fall River’ as the military called it in an effort to confuse the Japanese – American engineers would be sent to build aerodromes.

Apart from C Coy, the 55th was providing men from A Coy and a detachment of machine gunners from E Coy to ‘man the fort’. I think it’s safe to say we were considered by the generals as easy a sacrifice as the rust bucket that was assigned to transport C Coy to Milne Bay: the Dutch coastal ship, SS Bontekoe. While we had a naval escort for our journey, the reality is that unlike a naval frigate or destroyer, no-one would have missed this merchant vessel if it was sent to the bottom of the sea. After getting the impression that those in command weren’t overly concerned about our fate, what happened next could be described as either the most macabre sight, or, at best, the army’s idea of black comedy.

You see, minutes after being told we’d be on our own, all of the religious ministers who were attached to the army in Port Moresby suddenly rushed towards us. They offered their respective flocks – the Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Methodists – God’s glory and peace. They did that by either splashing soldiers with holy water, making the sign of the cross towards them, providing communion, or muttering a multitude of blessings. It was quite the revelation because until that day I’m quite certain not many of us knew there were

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