2019
75th Anniversary USS Pampanito led rescue
159 Australian & British POWs from South China Sea four days
after ‘Rakuyo’ Maru sank 12 September 1944, South China Sea between Hainan Island & Luzon after torpedoed by USS ‘Sealion’
Fremantle was the largest sub-marine base in the Southern Hemisphere during WW2. The first US submarine arrived in 1942, and during 1943 the US Navy established a repair facility at North Pier. During the next years more than 170 submarines from US, British and Dutch navies were accommodated.
When USS ‘Pampanito’ sailed into Fremantle Sub Marine Base 30 December 1944, standing on the dock to greet the crew were several rather familiar looking men waving excitedly.
The three young men were Cocking, Pickett and Winter from 2/4th Machine Gun Battaion with beaming smiles, wearing the same dungarees given to them to wear by the crew after they had been pulled from the South China Sea. The three men grabbed the hawsers and tied Pampanito to the pier.
It was New Years Eve! The crew had never such a warm welcome.
The three men were from five men from 2/4th rescued by Pampanito from a total of 73 POWs.
Eleven 2/4th men were included in the total rescued number of 159.
COCKING, Alfred John, known as ‘Jack’ WX16369
https://2nd4thmgb.com.au/soldier/wx16369/
PICKETT, Harry WX9055
https://2nd4thmgb.com.au/soldier/wx9055/
WINTER, Walter Victor, known as ‘Wally’ WX10373 https://2nd4thmgb.com.au/soldier/wx10373/
The former POWs had returned to WA during November 1944.
The other two Machine Gunners rescued by ‘Pampanito’ were
PASCOE, Thomas Anthony ‘Tom’ WX7409 https://2nd4thmgb.com.au/soldier/wx7409/
WINTER, Alfred Daly ‘Alf’ WX8110
https://2nd4thmgb.com.au/soldier/wx8110/
Grateful to the Pampanito crew – they badly wanted to show their gratitude and provide welcoming Aussie hospitality. On that memorable afternoon/evening the crew had given up their sleeping quarters and hesitated to look after the sick POWs – in particular they were especially thankful to pharmacist Doc Demars, who had worked around the clock 24 hours daily to keep the men alive during the five day trip to Saipan, the nearest Allied Port.
Fremantle was a scheduled two-week stop-over with leave and for some change over of staff. After the officers and crew booked into their hotel accommodation with Officers to the Majestic Hotel and crew to the Ocean Beach Hotel at Cottesloe Beach, it was ‘out on the town’ with the Aussies as hosts who ensured the Americans were treated with respect and as heroes!
Normally there existed some ill feelings between Diggers and Americans (mostly over Americans winning the favour of Australian girls while the Diggers were away at war) and of course the Americans were subjected to being overcharged by cab drivers and the like! Not this visit – the Americans reported Wally Winters beat-up the driver of a charcoal-driven taxi who attempted to charge them nearly three times the price of their fare.
Charlie McGuire said the Pampanito crew could go anywhere, to the roughest places in Perth and two or three diggers would step in to protect them.
Fremantle, a smaller city than Perth was a short distance of 20 km away. Western Australia was a vast state – with a small population (446,000 in 1940 Census) – even within the 2/4th MGB there existed family connections from various rural towns across the state. The Battalion was Western Australian raised beginning at end of 1940. The majority had trained together at Northam Army Camp, Woodside Army Camp, South Australia and was posted to Darwin in the Northern Territory until being urgently shipped to Singapore in January 1941at Churchill’s pressing request to Australia’s Prime Minister John Curtin.
The Australians were being withdrawn from the Middle East, returning home to fight the Pacific War and protect Australia. Some of these troops had already been diverted to Singapore and landed in Java. They were also taken POWs of Japan. Curtin directed the remaining troops to sail directly to Australia. It was the last time Curtin responded favourably to Churchill’s requests. Curtin realised it was futile sending more Australians to Singapore which fell to Japan several weeks later on 15 February 1942. More than 32,000 Allied troops were taken POWs.
The Fall of Singapore was the greatest disaster in British war history.
Thereafter Australian families had no news of loved ones – during 1943 the Red Cross was able to send some messages from Thailand. Some families would not learn of their men’s fates/deaths until early 1946 – well after the war ended in August 1945.
Read the story
https://2nd4thmgb.com.au/story/rakuyo-maru-75th-anniversary-torpedoe-attack-sinking-12-sept-1944/
Rescued by USS ‘Queenfish’
BUNKER, Harold Thomas (Harry) WX9223
CROSS, Frederick Victor ‘Vic’ WX7268
BEILBY, Philip James ‘Phil’ WX12765
Rescued by USS ‘Sealion’
KEARNEY, Laurance Daniel “Laurie’ WX17452
SING, Alfred ‘Alf’ WX16424
Rescued by USS ‘Barb’
HAMPSON, Robert Douglas ‘Doug’ WX7123
Hampson finally reached Australian shores (Brisbane) via USS ‘Monanock’
31 October 1944. He arrived Perth on 1st November 1944.
The POWs were all in terrible physical shape from immersion in the sea, from 4 days of exposure to sun and wind and covered in oil. Any small supplies of water were long gone. There had been no food.
Some had injuries received during their exit off ‘Rakuyo’ – it was dark and several hours before morning. Initially there was panic, madness and cries for help, for mates, for anything! POWs in the hull had to climb onto the deck. After a few hours, realising their ship would take some time to sink because of the cargo of rubber, a number of POWs returned to Rakuyu continued throwing everything that would float was thrown overboard and sought water supplies and food (if they were fortunate).
Shock waves caused by explosions from depth chargers dropped by Japanese frigate ‘Hirado’ had sent ‘electric shocks’ through their bodies badly injuring and killing POWs.
Three and half years as POWs of Japan, working on Thai-Burma Railway where they were subjected to working long days of hard physical labour, daily starvation, beatings and ongoing tropical illnesses for which there were no medicines had left the men in poor physical health.
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