Coastwatchers

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Captain Martin Clemens (rear centre), a coastwatcher on Guadalcanal, provided intelligence to Allied forces during the battle for the island (August 1942-February 1943). The men with him were all members of the Solomon Islands police force.

The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section "C" Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific island locations during World War II, to observe enemy movements and rescue stranded Allied personnel. They played a significant role in the Pacific Ocean theatre and South West Pacific theatre. There were about 400 Coastwatchers in all — they were mostly Australian military officers, Pacific Islanders and escaped Allied prisoners of war. The Coastwatchers were led by Lieutenant Commander Eric Feldt, who was based in Townsville, Australia.

Many personnel who took part in Coastwatcher operations behind enemy lines were commissioned as officers of the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RANVR), to protect them in case of capture, although this was not always recognized by the Japanese military, which executed several. The Coastwatchers' numbers were also augmented by escaped Allied personnel and even civilians. In one strange case, three German missionaries assisted the coastwatchers after escaping Japanese captivity. (Germany was an ally of Japan).

Feldt chose "Ferdinand" as the code name for his organisation, from a popular children's book about a bull, The Story of Ferdinand. He explained this by saying:

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.[1]

In June 1942, "Ferdinand" became part of the Allied Intelligence Bureau, which was under the South West Pacific Area (command) (SWPA). However Feldt reported to both GHQ, SWPA, in Brisbane and the Fleet Radio Unit in Melbourne (FRUMEL), which was under the Pacific Ocean Areas (command).[2]

In 1942, two coastwatchers on Bougainville, Read and Mason, radioed early warning of Japanese warship and air movement (citing the numbers, type and speed of enemy units) to the United States Navy. Coastwatcher reports allowed U.S. forces to launch aircraft in time to engage the attackers. Admiral William Halsey, Jr. was later to say that the two men had saved Guadalcanal.

In August 1943, Lt John F. Kennedy of the United States Navy — a future President of the United States — and twelve fellow crew memebers were shipwrecked after the sinking of their boat, the PT 109. An Australian coastwatcher, Sub-Lt Arthur Reginald Evans, observed the explosion of the US Navy PT-109 when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Despite US Navy crews giving up the crew as a complete loss, Evans dispatched two Solomon Islander scouts including Biuki Gasa in dugout canoes who found Kennedy and his surviving crew, who delivered a message inscribed on a coconut. Kennedy had scratched a message to Evans on the coconut describing the plight and position of his crew. The future U.S. President was rescued shortly after, and 20 years later welcomed Evans to the White House. Gasa did not make the trip for reasons that are unclear.

[edit] Coastwatchers in popular culture

Evans was depicted in the PT-109 and named in the Jimmy Dean hit song, also called "PT-109". In the 1964 film Father Goose, actor Cary Grant plays a coastwatcher. In the musical South Pacific, a US Marine is sent to do a similar job.

In W. E. B. Griffin's The Corps series, Griffin gives credit to Australian coastwatchers for their services at Guadalcanal.

[edit] References

[edit] Books

• Clemens, Martin (2004 (reissue)). Alone on Guadalcanal: A Coastwatcher's Story. Bluejacket Books. ISBN 1591141249.
• Feldt, Eric Augustus (1946). The Coastwatchers. Oxford University Press. ASIN B0007DYJIE.
• Feuer, A. B. (1992). Coastwatching in World War II (Stackpole Military History Series). Westport, Connecticut, U.S.A.: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-3329-7.
• Lord, Walter (1977 (Reissue 2006)). Lonely Vigil; Coastwatchers of the Solomons. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-466-3.
• Macdougal, A. (2002). Australians at War: A Pictorial History. The Five Mile Press. ISBN 1-86503-865-2.

[edit] External links

• Bowen, James. Australian Coastwatchers in the Pacific War. A History of the Battle for Australia 1942-43. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
• Dunn, Peter (2005). Coast Watch Organization. Australia @ War. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
• Hall, D. O. W. (2004). Coastwatchers. Episodes & Studies Volume 2. New Zealand Electronic Text Centre. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
• Resture, Jane (2005). Coastwatchers. Jane's Oceania Home Page. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
• Shaw, Jr., Henry I. (1992). First Offensive: The Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal. Marines in World War II Commemorative Series. Retrieved on 2006-05-16.

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