Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

THE STORY OF: THE JOURNEY


Working throughout the year of 1998 preparing for another journey to the Land of the Rising Sun, many segments of a cultural program had to be put in place.

It was an historic occasion that as President of the Australia-Japan Society of Geraldton, my team and I had observed the almost impossible dream of the Geraldton City Council agreeing to form a Sister City relationship with Arai-cho in Shizuoka Prefecture.

With such a fantastic and exacting program to follow it was with great honour that I accepted a request by my cousin Albert Speer MBE to add to my itinerary a journey to the west coast of Japan to visit the family of a man he once met in combat on the battle fields of Papua New Guinea during WWII. Captain Goshi Inuzuka took as a souvenir, Bert’s sleeping bag NX122 222 back to Japan with him.

After the war, Captain Goshi Inuzuka went back to Papua New Guinea as he promised his comrades he would do. There he met a reporter in Lae by the name of Mutti Gware. Inuzuka asked Muttu Gware “how come you are a trained reporter? He responded by saying that “Albert Speer trained him with the help of his friends.” Where upon Goshi Inuzuka told Muttu Gware that he should tell Speer to go to Japan and see him.

It took some time but eventually Albert decided to visit Inuzuka’s home in Japan where he was made most welcome. By the time the second visit had eventuated, Bert and Goshi had become very close friends having communicated in the intervening period between visits. It was on his second journey to Japan in 1960 that Bert was presented with a gift from Inusuka which turned out to be his dog tags and sleeping bag. However, it was left in the hands of Goshi san so that his son Moriaki could continue to use it on the ski slopes of Niigata.

With time continuing its march it came to pass that in March 1998 Terry O'Toole received a phone call from his cousin Albert asking him the following question: When are you going to Japan next?” Terry responded by saying “in September of this year”. Bert with his customary zeal organized a package of information for Terry to utilize when he accepted Albert’s request to visit Mrs Yoneko Inuzuka and their family in Mitsuki City. Terry’s instructions were to travel with Goshi’s daughter, Mayumi and her husband Shingo to visit the Inuzuka Family.

So it was on Sunday 4th October 1998 Terry was escorted from the Hotel Kaiyo in Shinjuku, a suburb of Tokyo to connect with a Shinkansen (Bullet Train) for the trip to Nagaoka City where we were to be met by Moriaki along with his children Go and Yumi at the station before travelling by car to the family residence.

Already the journey had developed an emotional side to the way things were unfolding because Terry felt a sense of belonging with this Japanese Family. Upon arrival at Mitsuke City, he soon found himself face to face with Yoneko, the widow of Goshi. She was a very delightful person and they got on very well. But nothing had prepared him for a chain of historical events which unfolded before his eyes. For among the items Terry had received from Albert to give to the Inuzuka Family was a letter he had received from Albert which he decided to pass on to assist the family to understand the reason behind the visit.

There seemed such a long silence as the Inuzuka Family collectively looked over the documents. Then came an explanation that ‘no one in the Inuzuka Family had ever realised why Captain Goshi Inuzuka and Albert Speer were friends up to that point in time. Or how Captain Inuzuka had come to have Berts dog tags and sleeping bag in his possession. It was the most emotional experience for all concerned. A few tears fell down the cheeks of family members and visitor alike. Moriaki speedily got to his feet and grabbed Terry’s arm and called him brother. In an instant Terry had become brother to Moriaki and the rest of the Inuzuka Family.

The family decided to bring out for display the photographs of Bert’s visit to the area in 1960 where much discussion was had between everyone about what the photographs depicted. Terry was then escorted by Mayumi, Shingo and Moriaki to the very locations Bert had visited thirty years before. On one occasion, Terry walked into a workshop where a Japanese man was making door handles for fridges and chatting to a friend of his. I said, “how are you going mate?’ and they just looked at each other. Then Mayumi came in and explained that I was Speer san’s cousin from Australia. Immediately the man making the door handles replied, “I know Speer san, he stood there thirty years ago where you are standing today.” Well Terry felt a little stunned and you could have knocked him over with a feather. The Japanese person making the door handles told Terry with Mayumi’s assistance that he was also an army officer in Papua New Guinea during World War 11. Terry thought to himself that it makes one wonder what sort of a cousin is Albert Speer, when you can go to a foreign country and find people who think so much of him as a human being that they always carry him in their hearts.

Upon O’Toole san’s return to Australia he arranged for Debbie O’Toole to travel to Sydney with copies of the photographs relating to his experiences with the Inuzuka family in Mitsuke City and passed on to Bert. His reaction Terry was informed was one of a very loving and humble man.

Like it was stated in the beginning, it was an honour for O’Toole san to be asked in the first place to follow in Albert’s footsteps for it provided for him the opportunity to develop a deepening understanding about the nature of friendship and battle.

Or as in the words of Mrs Yoneko Inuzuka to Terry just before he departed the family home in Mitsuki City with tears in her eyes “please let there be peace!”


Written by: Terry O’Toole
7 December 1998

THE ROAD TO FRIENDSHIP



Teaching, living in a country called Japan
Captain Goshi Inuzuka travelled away from his beloved homeland
Far from the bustling cities and snowy peaks
It would be a long time before he walked his country’s streets
Away from Nippon over the sea
Wishing he knew what was in store for thee

Far away in the land of Australia
Amongst the rolling hills of Roslyn topped with snow
Albert Speer stood soon to be
Australian Chief Executive Officer Medical Training PNG
He dreamed of life and wondered what would be
As he prepared to leave the home of his ancestry

Soon the two men were locked in battle
From the plantations around Lae
To the port of Salamua on the Huon Peninsula
Meeting in battle unlike kindred spirits
Inuzuka chanced upon sleeping bag NX122 222
Returning to the land from whence he came
The captain put the sleeping bag away from the rain

Through twists and turns over many a mile
These two men would share many a wry smile
Meeting as they did in Mitsuke City
Two war time adversaries learned to be friends
Laughing, drinking, sharing a joke
It’s true to say that “friendship, not war,
Was the winner for these young blokes.”











Travelling back home thinking about things
Speer realized that he could visit again
Meeting Inuzuka for an old train ride
These men left Tokyo away from the lights
Knowing full well there was no time to rest
They boarded the train and headed west

As closer and closer their friendship grew
A relationship developed experienced by few
Enjoying the time travelling together
Inuzuka gave Speer a gift to remember
Opening the package without a sign of grief
Speer looked in amazement at what lay on the sheet
Sleeping bags are many but none like this
It belonged to Speer san oh what a relief
Still wearing its army issue number just like new
These men now knew why friendship grew

Realising there’s no point in taking it back
Speer told Inuzuka he could “keep the old sack,”
Over and over it goes through the mind
Once these men were enemies, now friends a longtime..







Terry O’Toole
12July 2016