By now,flamesfrom the Hildanoring's numerous ruptured barrels of petrol filled the air and covered the waters, making the whole area a watery inferno. up in the hot and stinking fo'csle. when the wind ,,(/ The Skipper told me to keep the bilge pump going all the freshened in the f time as we were taking on more water than usual due to our early evening. The heavy load. Turning to Al Meyer, our mate, the old man told Yitiaz Straits, him: "Keep 'er headin ' on the same course, I'll 'ave a snooze through which lay for a couple of hours and then take 'er over." ''MacArthur'sPath'' During the late afternoon, the wind and sea rose to a tropical to the Philipstorm strength and the old lady rolled and pitched ferociously. pines and Tokyo , The risk of sinking and drowning amid these razor sharp coral seemed to form a reefs and shoals, or the risk of an even grimmer death from the funnel and cananumerous sharks that usually abound in the reefs made me lize the wind and shudder as I braced myself closer to the entrance of the engine sea along this stretch of the sea room. The Vivian was my baby. Throughout the long night, the storm grew more severe. By and at times it first light, the noise of the wind and sea was deafening and we seemed the old were taking on water faster than the engine bilge pump could lady was almost The ill-fatedHildanoringatTufi Dock, victim take care of so we took turns, each a half hour at working the standing still. of a violent gasoline explosion and fire that Turning to Al, I burnt her to the waterline on December 12, big hand diaphragm bilge pump. Getting from the galley and foc 'sle to the wheelhouse aft asked: "Where the 1943 , while tied up next to the Jane. called for quick timing and a fair amount of luck. Bracing hell are we?" myself in a sheltered spot near the entrance to the engine room, "Hell, don ' t know," he replied. "We' re just following the I watched Oswalt, our mess boy, coming from the galley with Timoshenko up the coast line to Finch; I guess it's somewhere some food for Al and the Skipper in the wheelhouse. Slipping up the coast. Can't go any further than Finch. Guess the Japs and sliding across the deck, grasping wildly for anything to have all the rest of New Guinea." The Old Man said he knew keep himself from going overboard, he finally made it to the it was the Timoshenko, a "small ships" trawler doing duty in wheelhouse. "Good fella, me bring um kai kai," he said, and much the same way as ourselves, by the hammer and sickle looking out over the water with a horrified look in his young cartooned on her wheel house and she was flying the American black face, he mumbled to himself and Oscar at the wheel: flag. We rounded Nugidu Peninsular Point and entered the long "Rahama i rated " (very bad water). "Good on ye, boy," said the Old Man. "Let's give it a go on narrow lagoon approaching what looked like a good spot to this Christmas dinner." Cold bully beef and mixed canned anchor, the Skipper yelled: "Let 'er go."The anchor took hold vegetables with canned peaches, stale bread and jam topped in the sand. Looking around the place looked like a "black off the dinner that George prepared for us , and washed down stump" (end of civilization). The Aussies and Yanks had paid with a lemon drink made with lukewarm water and syrup that dearly in blood for every inch of the old Lutheran Mission. Miles up the coast, north of Finch, at Wewak and Madang, tasted blah. This was our Christmas dinner. Al said it wasn't Lieutenant General Hatazo Adache's 18th and 20th Japanese fit to feed to a dingo. Then suddenly, as if by magic, about 1400, the squall Army Divisions had over 30,000 well seasoned troops and in passed. The sun came out and the sea flattened out as we passed almost two years of occupation they had dug in and amassed into deep blue water. We had left the D'Entrecasteaux Reefs close to 500 planes just waiting for us. Finch, Lae and Dreger Harbour were being used as staging and Shoals behind. But with the good weather, also came the threat of some stray Jap float planes from Rabaul, Cape and jumping off areas for men and supplies for the Cape Gloucester, or maybe even Madang, or perhaps a Nip armed Gloucester and Arawe offensives now taking place. patrol boat. They usually operated in pairs, as our own PTs did. But alas, we were in the wrong place. Dreger Harbour was On the midnight to 0400 early morning watch the sky above us back up the coast and Finch was being bombed every night by was clear and beautiful with what looked like millions of stars the Jap planes from Rabaul and Madang, so we were ordered all blinking and shining down on us. out of the harbor for safety's sake. The next morning, the hot tropical sun beat down merciThe Skipper screamed: "We wuz shafted again." Up came lessly on the Jane as we plowed along, at five miles an hour our anchor and we waved goodbye to the Timoshenko as we more or less. The whole bloody vessel seemed to stink of petrol headed out the lagoon and east along the coast a few miles to fumes. Al had Wilkie and Oswalt cool down the deck and Dreger Harbour. Coming in through a break in the reef the Old around the barrels of petrol with sea water and when they Man guided the Jane at slow speed to a safe anchorage near a didn ' t completely eliminate the stink, he had them throw big Royal Poinciana tree and a stand of high mangroves and then yelled, "Let the 'ook go." When the anchor bit deep in the bucket after bucket of water across the tops of the bar.els. It was somewhere around noon on the 26th when the Tami mud, Al said "Wow, we made it." It was December 27th. The Islands with their ring of reefs and shoals appeared dead ahead. poinciana trees and the mangrove forest, some 40 to 50 feet We passed about 500 yards off Kalai, the largest of the four high, provided a perfect overhead shade and camouflage for islands, and were able to see the island's big coral cliffs us. through the Skipper's old binoculars. A detachment of AustraA few moments later, the Navy 's fueling officer came lians manned the early warning radar station. Al blinked our alongside and yelled for us to come alongside the fuel barge in password code and received a positive answer in return. the morning. The Skipper turned to Al, and said: "I'm taking my bucket Theseasseemedtoroll through the passage between the Tami Islands and New Guinea, and long muscular swells built up bath and hitting the sack. Call me at midnight and I'll relieve ,:
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SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991