SAW JAPS BEATEN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 37, 8 January 1943, Page 5

SAW JAPS BEATEN

SOLOMONS NAVAL BATTLE

watched from an island Of his eight years of missionary life, Father Scanlon, avlio is on a AMsit to New Zealand, spent most of them in the Solomons, and the last tAvo j*ea.rs Avere. in Guadalcanal - , Avhich. lie only recently left. At the recent meeting of the Napier Rotary Club he told his audience that on this island there was no civilisation and economically it Avas valueless. There Avere no facilities such as electricity, telephones, roads and so on, and although the island Avas only 35 miles, across at its Avidest point, it Avas; such that it. took him two weeks to traA'el 20 of the 35 miles. Barges Abandoned "A country just can't land a mechanised army there and go ahead," said Father Scanlon, and as an example of this he stated that on the day he came aAvay he had counted 46 Japanese self-propelled barges abandonee! on the beach, complete* with mounted machine guns. No attempt had been made to them and the Japs had simply left them there and gone into* the interior ito take, up positions. The speaker said that in his opinion the Japs had no earthly chance of re-taking Guadalcanar and that the only reason they had been, able to OA'cr-run so many other islands Avas because they had met. no opposition. "The Japanese is undoubtedly a braA r o and courageous soldier hut he lacks initiative and the ability to see danger ahead," -continued, the speaker, and to instance this he mentioned Avhen a Zero plane attacked and Avas bloAA'n to pieces by the American A.A. guns, a second plane went over the same spot and met the same fate almost immediately and then a third, and out of 24 planes Tvhicli came over that time 23 Avere shot down. Father Scanlon gave a lot of praise to the Grumman Wildcat planes Avhich, lie said. Avere remarkably manocirvrable and stable and it Avas a common thing to see one Wildcat bring doAvn three and four Zeros.

Lack of Initiative As another example of the Japanese lack of initiative, Father Scanlon stated that on the occasion of the first bombing of the island, the Japs dropped bombs for months and months without any damage -whatever, and on the Invasion of Tulagi the place was bombed for 24 hours, although it. was entirely undefended and there was: no opposition whatever. He added that he was taken prisoner on this occasion and was; asked, ayhc.rc the big Australian army Avas, and the Japs avouUl not believe him Avhcn he said there Avais none and that it Avas actually uiv defended. The Battle of SaA'o Ilsland was a .sight Avliich Avas Avitnesscd by Father Seanlon, and although he did. not actually see. the American ileet, he Avas on a nearby hill Avhen the American dive bombers arriA'cd on the scene and he saw them sink seven s.h i >)£. A Sea of Heads "The Avater there Avas simply a sea of heads and although the shore ay as only a quarter of a mile away only tAvo men got ashore. The others Avere all devoured by sharks," said Father Scanlon. ''It is quite true. Avhat has been so often .said about the Japs committing suicide rather than surrender," lie added. "They do not Avant to be taken prisoner and it is also true, that they have repeatedly put up their hands in surrender, bttt Avith grenades strapped to the back of them, these being throAvn as they stepped, forward, destroying the enemy as aycll as themselves." The speaker said that .in one of the battles American pilots show-1 oil a complete disregard for their own liA'es. and often got down to as low as SO feet, dropping their bombs and then shooting up like rockets, lie added that his own escape Avas made during an American attack. Another interesting point made by the speaker AYas that the day the Americans landed, to retake thjjg Solomons the Japs Avere completely by surprise shot Avas the attad^^^^^f the. Americans found still missing. p c e n at (Continued

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