Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John was a crew member on HMAS Wagga during the Milne Bay air attack by the Japanese on 14/04/1942. He manned the fire hoses and was terrified as the Japanese were dive bombing his craft. He recalled the screams and the smell of burning flesh from injured crewmembers on the Dutch merchant vessel Van Heenskerk which was nearby and had been hit by dive bombers.

During the war John was evacuated to a US field hospital in New Guinea with appendicitis. He was given a spinal anaesthetic which was a new procedure and had an appendicectomy. He said that there were no boards blocking his view of the surgery, so he could see and also hear everything. As he didn't like the sight of blood this was very stressful for him. He later suffered from headaches which he attributed to the anaesthetic.

During his recovery he enjoyed seeing the full Broadway cast, with sets and costumes, perform the musical Oklahoma.

He also saw US servicemen who were insane kept in caged enclosures and hosed down for hygiene reasons.

The Wagga crew would trade their bully beef rations with the US servicemen for SPAM to add variety to their diet. John enlisted in the navy with a full set of teeth and by the end of his service he had lost his upper teeth and needed upper dentures.

John said that Japanese troops in New Guinea at the end of the war had been abandoned , lacked supplies and were in poor health. He couldn't help feeling sorry for those he saw who were ill and had fly blown bottoms.

John got Dengue Fever when in the tropics and mentioned that the Japanese were supplied with anti malarial drugs.