BC Cook
WHEN war broke out in the Pacific in 1941 few countries were ready for it, even though many saw it coming. Australia fit this description. After watching its military assets drain away to the fighting in Europe and Africa over the previous two years, the Aussies’ response to the rampaging Japanese was feeble to say the least. To offset some of their deficiencies they relied heavily on Pacific islanders. This is the story of the Coastwatchers.
Formed in 1922, the Coastwatchers used Pacific islanders as spies and observers to monitor military activity in the far-flung regions under Australian administration: New Guinea and the Solomons, for example. They numbered around four hundred in all.
The code name for the organization was Ferdinand, from a character in a children’s book. As the commander of the Coastwatchers explained, Ferdinand “did not fight but sat under a tree and just smelled the flowers. It was meant as a reminder to coastwatchers that it was not their duty to fight and so draw attention to themselves, but to sit circumspectly and unobtrusively, gathering information. Of course, like their titular prototype, they could fight if they were stung.”
In 1942 two Coastwatchers on Bougainville radioed information about a coming Japanese attack, which enabled the Americans to prepare a defense. The resulting battle saved the situation for the Americans and because of this, American Admiral William Halsey said that the two Coastwatchers had “saved Guadalcanal and Guadalcanal saved the Pacific.”
The most famous Coastwatcher was Jacob Vouza, a native of Guadalcanal. When fighting raged on the island in 1942 he volunteered to work for the Australians, rescuing an American pilot on the first day of battle. Captured by the Japanese, he was tortured for information. He was tied to a tree and beaten, stabbed five times in the chest, in both arms and face and left to die. He chewed through his ropes and broke free, crawling three miles to the American lines where he warned them of an impending attack. For his superhuman effort Vouza was awarded the Silver Star and Legion of Merit by the United States and was knighted by the British Empire.
Perhaps the most famous incident involving Coastwatchers was the rescue of John Kennedy and the crew of PT-109. In August 1943 Arthur Evans manned an observation post atop a nearby mountain and saw the destruction of Kennedy’s vessel. He dispatched two islander scouts in dugout canoes to look for survivors. The scouts found the men and Kennedy carved a message into a coconut husk giving his situation and location. In 1961 President Kennedy welcomed Evans to the White House and thanked him for saving his life.
There are many stories of the Coastwatchers and others like them. They show once again that islanders were not passive spectators as events swirled around them. They have always been active participants in the history of the Pacific.
BC Cook, PhD lived on Saipan and has taught history for over 30 years. He is a director and historian at Sealark Exploration.
