Note: Pictures added for clarity. Pictures are not necessarily
originals from TSgt. Allan
I guess I told you about so many aircraft compasses
precessing, and of our planes sitting down in those long hard places that the
Abos used for stomping for thousands of years. Well, there was a story that
whenever an aborigine would get injured by fighting, falling down a cliff (very
unlikely) or any other way seriously hurt, he would leave the tribe, go to a
certain spot in the "Rum Jungle" area, find a particular mud hole,
bury himself clear to his
jaw, and stay there for several days! When he thought it was time (by whatever
sign) he would emerge, find another water hole, wash all the mud off, and examine
himself. There would be hardly a scar on his body! Years later, when the Aussie
government checked into it, and when they found the right wallow, they discovered
high radiation. They equated the event to present day radiation treatments.
It was known for many years but until the war was over no one had the gumption
to be interested! In due time, in the "Rum Jungle" area was found
the largest uranium deposits in the world. I saw a picture of the area a year
or so ago, and the hole was like the grand canyon -- no bottom to it. You couldn't
see across to the other side, and the length vanished over the horizon!
I think I told you about the "Bunyap' before, but
I will repeat the story. The aborigine "Death's Head,"is called "Bunyap,"
or"Bunyip." It was a threat of death to whoever saw it or thought
they saw it. Before this emblem came into use in the 7th Pursuit Squadron, they
believed in so completely that they would be dead in a short time. For some reason or another, depending how they kept track
of time, within a period of time the person was dead! . It was said by Aussie
historians that the aborigine "willed" himself to death -- so staunch
was his relief that he would die after seeing this sign. The 7th Squadron commander
asked the War Department and was given permission to use this emblem. The reason
it was chosen was that when the Japs saw it on the 7th planes. They supposedly
knew they would die.
The Darwin area, and 29 Mile Airstrip in particular, was
a hell hole if there ever was one! They were subject to Jap invasion at any
time with no one to defend it except pilots and mechanics. Talk about jitters!
Moreover, it was burning dry, more than one hundred degrees every day. There
was this red dust four inches thick everywhere which got into every thing. It
splashed up in flour-like clouds at every step. When it rained, it just didn't
rain, it came down in tub-fulls so heavy that you could hardly see five feet
away. In the rain, the red dust became red mud that splattered all over you
if you were unlucky enough to get caught out in it. Shorts were the only thing
worn most of the time, until the Army health department got into the act! But,
by then it was too late! Most everyone had already made friends with skeeters,
chiggers, and a multitude of other fellow creatures
In New Guinea it was the same, only up to twenty degrees
hotter, and wetter. At Biak Island, we were only six degrees off the equator,
and the temperature was about 130 degrees every day! In Darwin, the least of
our enemies were the mosquitos. The lizards were something to stay away from.
We kept the little ones (chameleons) in our bunk nets to keep down the hordes
of other bugs that lay in wait for you! Among other things, in the hot, sweaty
weather, the chigger bites or possibly the old carcases, come to the surface
on my legs, like an attack all over again. Red, swollen, very itchy. In the
early days, most everyone awoke with blood running down their legs from clawing
at them with finger nails, or toe hails, between snatches of sleep. It very
nearly closed down the line at times. From ankles clear up to the crotch, and
on some of the guys even above that! Infected sores and lacerations kept guys
in agony. With the advent of Gentian Violet, this stuff was kept under control,
but we were a bunch of Purple Martins. One kid even had his head almost totally
covered! I wrote my mother, asking if she had an age-old, old country treatment.
She suggested salt and butter or lard. The grease would hold onto the skin and
the salt would become the greatest healer of all time!
We had lizards! From the chameleons, those cute little
playful creatures, to the larger ten foot man-eaters. There were two kinds of
big ones: swamp ones, and a slightly smaller one, common in the central desert.
A person might outrun one on dry ground, but the big ones along the coast, and
backwaters could outrun any man through the jungle. If I had known the man-eater
Monitor lizards were anywhere close to our operation, I would not have been
so fearless. I was once chased by a lizard. It was only a four footer but it
could have taken a healthy bite out of me! I'm sure you have heard stories about
the huge Salt Water Crocs. Some of the 49th pilots had experiences with them
when they were shot down and parachuted into the coastal swamps.
I guess I should mention the snakes! Twenty different kinds,
all deadly poisonous except two. We thought they were only Black snakes, or
Bull snakes or some such harmless kin! Whatever they were, we let them hide
in our tents, They kept the ground rats dispersed. Which are worse: rats with
rabies or snake bites?
I never did see a dingo (wild dog.) I heard them many times
howling at the moon -- sometimes not far away. It made me feel like dropping through my bunk, sinking down into the
ground several feet. Not being able to do that, the only thing to do was cover
my ears tightly and then try going back to sleep but many times that didn't
work either. A wolf howl sounds more pleasant!
The Darwin area, and the town itself, was supplied with
potable water via a twelve-inch (?) cast-iron pipe that came two hundred or
so miles from the East. It was painted green, and was mounted on concrete pillars
about one to two feet high -- all out in the open, alongside the only track
(dirt) that came from that direction. I don't know what happened at rivers or
gorges, or high hills. It was there for anyone to see although perhaps not from
any altitude. Anyway, being out in that hot sun all day, we had plenty of hot
water for showers up until two or three o'clock in the a.m. It was awful stuff
to try to drink since it was 100 to 200 degrees. We had a daily fear (among
many) of being without water every time the Jap bombers came over. But, later,
we got used to Lister bags, but they were the worse ordeal there ever was! As
far as I know, the Japs never found the water pipe!
imself clear to his
jaw, and stay there for several days! When he thought it was time (by whatever
sign) he would emerge, find another water hole, wash all the mud off, and examine
himself. There would be hardly a scar on his body! Years later, when the Aussie
government checked into it, and when they found the right wallow, they discovered
high radiation. They equated the event to present day radiation treatments.
It was known for many years but until the war was over no one had the gumption
to be interested! In due time, in the "Rum Jungle" area was found
the largest uranium deposits in the world. I saw a picture of the area a year
or so ago, and the hole was like the grand canyon -- no bottom to it. You couldn't
see across to the other side, and the length vanished over the horizon!
t time. For some reason or another, depending how they kept track
of time, within a period of time the person was dead! . It was said by Aussie
historians that the aborigine "willed" himself to death -- so staunch
was his relief that he would die after seeing this sign. The 7th Squadron commander
asked the War Department and was given permission to use this emblem. The reason
it was chosen was that when the Japs saw it on the 7th planes. They supposedly
knew they would die.
made me feel like dropping through my bunk, sinking down into the
ground several feet. Not being able to do that, the only thing to do was cover
my ears tightly and then try going back to sleep but many times that didn't
work either. A wolf howl sounds more pleasant!
