The following blog may be distressing for some and is written for a mature audience only.
 |
| A Japanese poem written on a scarf by Mrs Matsuo courtesy of the Australian war memorial |
Lining it up, lining it up …. lining it up …. now.
The bomb doors open and Little Boy hurtled down into the oblivious city below at the instant of release – suddenly unburdened of 10,000 pounds of weight – Enola Gay lurched upwards, and Tibbets quickly put into effect long months of training. In as tight a turn as Enola could manage without breaking up, he immediately put as much distance between them and the coming explosion as possible. And sure enough just forty-three seconds from the moment of release, as Tibbets would describe it later, ‘ I look up there and the whole sky is lit up in the prettiest blues and pinks I have ever seen in my life. It was just great’. The other thing he noticed was the tingling in his teeth, as his fillings interacted with the bomb’s radioactive pulses. When the shock wave hit them from the mushroom cloud that billowed up behind them to an altitude of 45,000 feet, Enola Gay again briefly lurched, but steadied and then continued on its way.
The bomb was only slightly off target. Instead of exploding above the Aioi Bridge as planned, it vaporised the Shima Hospital, some three hundred yards to the southeast. Some 140,000 of Hiroshima were all but instantly killed.
Another stunning excerpt from Peter Fitzsimons' book 'Kokoda'
Iorabawa to Goldie river
 |
| A bandana drying on one of the tents |
How disciplined have we become? Like a well drilled crack team everyone had packed, eaten and were standing around chatting well before Jimmies Rock and Roll call at 6:30am. There was genuine belly laughter that morning when one of us mistakenly took a firefly for someone approaching with a head torch. So much banter arose from these kind of incidents throughout the trek, uplifting our spirits.
 |
| The Kokoda track almost completed. Map courtesy of http://kokoda.commemoration.gov.au/about-the-kokoda-track/ |
Today was wet boot day. Instructions from Cam were to not take our shoes off for each of the 22 river crossings as this would take forever. He encouraged us to ‘wade straight through’ as the safer option.
 |
| Paul M wading straight through |
This was a first for me. I have never just walked straight through water with my boots on. There isn’t a lot of flooded tracks in West Australia to splash around in but here there is plenty. My blistered, sore feet protested at first but soon enjoyed the coolness of the water. The river crossings and forest surrounding this stretch of the track were immensely beautiful. It being the penultimate day I felt obliged to soak it all in even more. Many rocks and mouldy logs were covered in vivid green moss. In the rivers the larger rocks were black and dangerously slippery. The small pebbly rocks the most steady course for our feet.
 |
| Mates up the creek |
The two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Ended the war with Japan in the most insane and cruellest way imaginable. Three years prior to the bombing the tide turned at Iorabaiwa .
 |
| The early morning shot from Iorabaiwa |
Following the Australian withdrawal from Iorbaiwa the soldiers were dug in at Imita Ridge where the troops were reinforced notably with some large guns. "You die on Imita ridge" the Australians were told. No more retreating.
 |
| The soldiers dragging a heavy gun up to Imita ridge |
Meanwhile the Japanese, plagued by tropical diseases, lack of supplies and motivation were suddenly ordered by their higher command to 'advance to the rear'. The Japanese 144th division was needed to reinforce the troops in Buna. On the 28 September 1942, the Diggers pushed tentatively from Imita ridge down towards Iorabaiwa finding little to no resistance. Disaster for Port Moresby and Australia averted - the roles reversed - the chase was on.
 |
| Their coveted Japanese imperial army flag courtesy of Wikipedia |
Pushing the Japanese back on the Kokoda track wasn't an easy task. There were several bloody jungle battles along the way with the Japanese using the same ambush and retreat delaying tactics as they had received.
It became clear to the advancing Australians how much the Japanese had suffered when they found out that they had been eating the flesh of diseased Australian soldiers out of sheer desperation. Single shots had rung out, not directed at the Australians but from behind enemy lines. This could only mean the wounded Japanese soldiers were finished off by their own. It was impossible to carry the wounded back to safety over this terrain. There was no time to cremate them as per Japanese custom. Many bodies were found completely emaciated and some of them had been dead for many days.
Some of the injured Japanese were given two grenade's and left on the track. One grenade for the approaching Aussie's, one for themselves.
 |
| A starving Japanese prisoner This picture and information were found at http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/beachheads/thin.html |
Corporal Nishimura weighed less than 30 kilograms at the end of this incredible torment. He was the only soldier left alive of his division. Nishimura pledged he would return to PNG and recover the remains of his fallen comrades. He did so, many years later, and lived in Popondetta. (Smiddy's home town) for 26 years. Nishimura became known as 'the bone man of Kokoda'. Kokichi Nishimura died in October 2015.
 |
| Corporal Nishimura after recovering in Korea from his ordeal on the Kokoda track |
13,500 Japanese soldiers never returned home from the Kokoda track.
I nurtured my son just as I grew precious flowers
So that he could dedicate himself to the Emperor.
Now that the storm has passed
And all the cherry blossoms have blown away,
The garden looks very deserted.
Lieutenant Matsuo's mother wrote this poem to commemorate her son's death in the midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour on 31 May/1 June 1942. You can find this poem at the following link http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/underattack/
And there it was, the foot of the number one climb, the final major event of the Kokoda track, the imperative Imita ridge. We had a relaxing morning tea at the foot of the hill where, to my alarm , I was bitten by the only mosquito I had seen on the track. This is also the spot where I took the photo of Kerri as she is laying down in amongst the jungle. You can barely see her.
 |
| Immersion, reflection or just exhaustion after seven days in the jungle |
We all put in one hell of a herculean effort getting up Imita ridge – the calves burning – sweat soaked bodies – breathing like steamtrains – but after seven days fitter than ever, right? We all encouraged and helped each other up this blinder. The high fives on top of the ridge were flowing freely. We just broke the back of this trail and we all basked in a state of euphoria, together.
Smiddy, who found out that Craig was struggling that day went back down the hill to help him out. Loud cheers were heard when they made it to the top.
 |
| The steep rocky outcrop above Imita ridge |
We had seen two other groups on the track from other companies coming our way. This time we met another group from Kokoda Spirit. They kind of looked a bit bewildered and shy as we got stuck into the conversation straight away. We told them enthusiastically what lucky bastards they were to have most of the track still ahead of them. ‘Your group looks a bit tired’ said one of their members. I agreed with her but told her we were all having a brilliant time. They wore clean clothes and smelled like aftershave and perfume - very much the opposite to our sweat and mould, jungle bouquet.
 |
| Having fun in the Goodwater river |
Our ultimate reward for all that intense hiking we did came that afternoon. We arrived at Goldie river at 2:30pm. This gave us most of the afternoon to snooze, swim, chat and relax. A rare occasion.
 |
| Adam in conversation that afternoon |
 |
| Paul B relaxing |
At the final news time of this journey we talked about our overall experiences on the Kokoda track. Most of us referring back to one of the granite rocks on Isurava with the one word carved into it – ‘mateship’.
 |
| Time to let it all hang out |
Grey Bits
Why did Japan start the Pacific war? I found this article on Wikipedia helpful in understanding the history of this war.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Japan
 |
| The view over the Goldie River |
More information about Nishimura 'the Bone Man of Kokoda' can be found in the links below:
http://apjjf.org/-David-McNeill/2821/article.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-01-25/bone-man-offers-help-in-kokoda-digger-mystery/307402
No comments:
Post a Comment