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‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’
We all have to face the future with its problems, perils and challenges, and in our thinking, will be guided by what we know of the past. Everyone has his own version of our history. We play down our mistakes, play up our successes, and interpret events in accordance with our beliefs. We study the maze of interpretations of lauded historians and scholars and relevant myths and heresies. We then make up our own mind about the truth.
It is now over 60 years since the Japanese began their drive to conquer the Pacific Region and, as founders of the Greater East Asian Co Prosperity Scheme, become Lords of this part of the globe, which, incidentally included Australia.
Since their invasion, many versions of Japan’s drive south have been told. Influential authorities have played down Japan’s threat to our country so much so, that Australians, who are quick to forgive, and loath to offend, have come to regard the possibility of invasion as though it had never occurred.
We have all but forgotten that Japan was once a serious threat to the freedom of our country.
Most Australians have never given a passing thought to how near Japan was to taking us over. Nor have they ever thought what our life would have been like had they succeeded capturing us, given their culture at the time..
We would like to add our version of the life we experienced during our captivity, for the benefit of our younger generation, before it is too late. Our aim is to leave an honest record of the events we lived through, our knowledge of the Japanese culture as we experienced it, and why we believe Australia is so lucky to be enjoying the wonderful freedom we have today.
How easy it is for a nation to forget.
Recently a close relative of one of our POW mates, Tom Cumming, placed a memorial notice in one of the local papers to commemorate the 60th anniversary of his callous death by a callous enemy. The notice was tucked away at the bottom of the page. It was of little interest to anyone. It was not important.
Tom had been killed by the Japanese in Thailand. He was one of eight boys executed for attempting to escape. All were young men who loved Australia, and had seen it their duty to enlist in the AIF to help defend their country. All had fought valiantly against the Japanese in the defence of Singapore and were taken prisoner, through no fault of their own.
Working on the Burma- Thai railway, they had the courage to carry out their soldier’s commitment to escape. They were recaptured and executed by a Japanese firing squad. Brigadier Varley who witnessed their execution said of them, “They were brave men. They were men above men. We can be very proud of them. They should forever be an inspiration to us all.”
How easy it is to forget the callous treatment of our Japanese captors. Worse still, the epic of these courageous, loyal young men, has been lost to Australia’s heritage forever.
With typical oriental inscrutability, the Japanese play down the treatment of prisoners and deny they had any intentions to capture Australia, yet POWs were constantly beaten and tortured. The Japanese repeatedly boasted to us that Japan would capture Australia.
“Nippon take Australia.” When the opportunity arose Japan’s Navy headed straight for Australia, only to be thwarted by the American Navy in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway Island.
Australia has been branded ‘The Lucky Country’. Yet few realise how extraordinarily lucky we have been to still have our freedom. Left to our own resources to defend our shores, the Japanese invasion force could have walked straight onto Australia.
The notorious attack on Pearl Harbour brought the United States into the war and quite unwittingly, America became our salvation. In the early stages of the Pacific War, a weakened American navy routed a vastly superior Japanese fleet, in the battle of Midway Island. The battle could never have been won, had it not been for the brilliance of one man, an American cryptographer - Commander Joe Rochefort.
The Japanese fleet was on the brink of invading Australia. How lucky we were.
Luck has played an enormous part in the freedom Australia enjoys today, because of events we may never have heard of or which have been long since forgotten. We should never rely on luck to continue to enjoy our freedom in the future. Our prospective leaders will need wisdom based on their understanding of our past.
Lack of preparation for our defence against the Japanese put our Commanders in the unenviable position where they had no other choice than to send untrained young men into combat against a highly experienced enemy. Thousands of our young servicemen were wastefully thrown into battle, needlessly costing hundreds of young lives.
With the present ‘state of the art’ technology and the good leadership of the Armed Services, we might well ask, do we need all this expenditure on extravagant trappings of power to effectively defend our shores?
Might not our defences be adequately and assuredly met, with the young men and women in our Armed Services today, young people competent in their technical skills, who have a great love for their country, and a strong desire to defend its freedom?
To ensure we are not condemned to repeat the past, the history of Japan’s invasion of the Pacific and her threat to Australia, cries out these messages to us:
Tell people the truth about threats to our country.
Never be caught unprepared, and so have to sacrifice young lives needlessly in the hope that they may be able to protect our country. Training of the young will ensure a constant state of readiness, avoid sacrifice of young lives, and add strength of character to our nation.
Fend for ourselves, rely entirely on our own defences. Ensure our defences are strong enough to effectively keep other nations from invading our shores.
Never rely on help from other nations to defend us. Have as many friends and allies as we wish, but keep in mind they may have their own priorities when we need them most.
Never rely on luck for the security of our nation.
Trust no nation without proven integrity.
Prepare our nation thoroughly for its own defence. Defend our own shores wisely and competently, and reap the advantages that result from our security – peace and happiness.
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