A SHIT OF A WAR

The visit of the family of Sqn Ldr John Jackson has stirred memories

of the past. As a teenager in Australia, I would sit glued to the television

set after the ANZAC marches were over to watch war documentaries.

We young people of the 1950s became experts in many aspects of the

wars, particularly having listened to serials on Saturday nights on the

large walnut radios.

There was a story of “Tinlegs” Wing Commander Douglas Bader who

lost his legs in an aircraft accident only to go on to be an air ace in the

war against Germany. His story was relayed to the young people in a

serial “Reach for the Skies”.

Then there was the story of the “Great Escape” where about a hundred

prisoners of war escaped from a German prison of war camp. As a boy,

I knew all the stars personally week by week and was horrified to find

many were killed by German machine gun in the back of a truck.

We listened to nurses at war in the serial “White Coolies”. Many of

them died in a Japanese prison of war camp. That was a real story

of courage that was part of the growing up of Australian kids.

Then we saw movies “The Man who Never was” and “ The Bridge on
the River Kwai”. Some things stay in the memory, one being that the
Japanese CO of the camp attended the funeral of the British CO in
London many years later.

We may never forget the movie “The Cockleshell Heroes” who sailed

to Singapore Harbour aboard the boat the Krait.

Then one ANZAC Day, there was a story of war in Port Moresby

and Australian pilots who fought dog fights against the Japanese.

One pilot told an unforgettable story that intends no disrespect to the

men who fought. On the contrary, it was all part of their courage.

Pilots of 75^th Squadron stayed at Jackson’s airport and suffered

chronic diarrhoea and dysentry. They spent much time in latrines

until the call came to scramble.

Those with diarrhoea would climb aboard the aircraft and head for

the skies. In dogfights, they would climb to high altitudes and then

dive down on the Japanese bombers and fighters.

They would fire and then pull out of the dive. Inertia of this would

cause the diarrhoea and dysentery in their bowels to explode.

They would spend the rest of a dogfight sitting in a stinking cockpit,

probably too preoccupied to notice. But they may well have been

weak, dehydrated and lacking concentration.

The ones to really suffer after that were flight crew on the ground

whose job it was to clean out the cockpits time after time.

That puts the pilots of the RAAF on a similar basis to the soldiers

on the Kokoda Track. Diarrhoea was so bad at Isurava and down

the track that soldiers had to cut the seat out of their shorts for
ease of exit.

That is why Damien Parer only took photographs from the front.
The mums and dads in Australia had to feel that all was well.

Many of us looking back may feel that these young boys are our

sons. But no. They are our fathers and grandfathers.