SOMEDAY SOON (47 page)

When the switchboard answered she said:
‘Please get me Sergeant Major Brownlee at the Australian Army
Infantry Training Centre at Cowra in New South Wales.’

*

The SS
Chesapeake Bay
tied up at the Hamilton Wharf just
before dawn on a crisp June morning. Like all American ships, her
arrival was unannounced and was cloaked in secrecy and tight
security. The great liner was wearing a livery of battleship grey
and looked more like a huge warship than a passenger ship. She
remained in port two days, just long enough to disembark fresh
troops from America and take on two or three thousand returning
military personnel and a few civilian passengers.

Faith boarded the ship in fading light just a
few hours before she sailed, leaving a tearful Aunt Helen and a
somber Uncle Dick standing on the dock. She was shown to a cabin in
the forward part of the liner, which before conversion to a
troopship, had been the first class section. The cabin was still
well appointed and there was plenty of room for Faith and the three
US Army nurses she was to share it with all the way to San
Francisco.

That night, Faith and the nursing
officers talked long into the night. They were all very anxious to
get home to their loved ones. For security reasons no-one had been
given an exact itinerary of the voyage. But the nurses said they
thought the
Chesapeake Bay
was
nowhere near loaded to capacity and they would probably take on
more returning soldiers in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New
Caledonia before heading for Honolulu and San Francisco.

Just before Faith fell asleep, one of the
nurses said they should all make the most of a very long voyage
because for most of the journey there would be less than two
hundred females amongst more than ten thousand men.

*

One morning, Koko was taking part in a
rigorous exercise session in his compound when he saw the main
gates of the prison camp open to allow a Jeep to pass through. As
he watched the vehicle travelling along the roadway outside the
compound fence, he recognized the driver as Sergeant Major
Brownlee.

Koko thought no more of it until an hour
later when he was part of a work detail painting toilets in the
administration hut, and a guard told him he was needed elsewhere in
the building. The guard marched him from the toilets and down the
corridor outside. Then without warning, half way down the
passageway the guard opened a door to a small room and roughly
bundled Koko inside. Seated alone at a small table in the room was
Sergeant Major Brownlee.

‘Good morning Koko,’ Brownlee said
cheerfully. He signaled the guard to leave. When the door closed he
said, ‘Sorry about him, but it wouldn’t do to have the guards or
your fellow prisoners think you receive special treatment around
here, would it?

Koko shrugged his soldiers. ‘Why am I here
Sergeant Major?’

Brownlee leaned across the table. ‘I spoke
with Faith Brodie recently. She’s on her way overseas. She’s
engaged to be married to an American officer, you know. Apparently
she talked to her brother in the Northern Territory recently and he
gave her a message which she was most anxious I pass on to
you.’

Koko’s eyes widened expectantly. ‘What is it
Sergeant Major?

‘She said to tell you that the hunt for
the
Groote Eylandt Lady
may
soon be over. There have been fresh sightings along the Top End
coast and the net is closing in on them.’

‘Is that it? Is there nothing more?’

‘
I’m afraid that’s it, Koko. Miss
Brodie said she just wanted you to know everyone’s still
trying.’

Koko stood up to leave. ‘I appreciate you
telling me this Sergeant Major. I’m very grateful to you.’

‘It’s the least I could do, Koko. No one
feels worse than me about the way you have been treated. He
gestured to a chair on the other side of the table. ‘Please sit
down. I’d like to talk to you on another matter.’

Koko sat down. ‘And what is that, Sergeant
Major.’

‘This war will be over soon, Koko, and we can
all go back to enjoying our lives again. In the meantime, perhaps
we can make things a little easier by helping each other out.’

‘In what way?’

‘In wartime, terrible mistakes are made. It
is the lunacy of war that put you, a born Australian, in this awful
place, Koko. That’s why I broke the rules and arranged for Miss
Brodie to come here and see you. That’s why I’ve broken them again
today by passing on her message. You see, I would like to help you
as much as I can.’

‘Thank you, Sergeant Major. But how can I
help you?’

‘
When I came to the camp this morning,
the commanding officer and I spoke at some length. He and his
senior officers think something is going on here. He says the
Japanese prisoners are being too cooperative—too willing to
please.’ Brownlee lowered his voice until he was barely audible.
‘There has been an increase in physical activities over the past
weeks,—sumo-wrestling, rope-skipping and organized exercise
sessions in the compounds. The fitness levels of the prisoners have
never been so high and at a time when the camp is virtually
bursting at the seams. There are over a thousand Japanese prisoners
here now, but they are easier to handle than when there were only a
few hundred. The CO says that everything appears to be calm on the
surface but he is certain that underneath things are about to boil
over. We have reason to believe a mass escape is being planned. We
want you to help us prevent it. You speak their language and you
know this Yakimoto fellow well. You must know something of what is
going on.’

Koko felt his mouth go dry. Suddenly his
hands were clammy. His flesh tingled and he hoped his face wouldn’t
flush and betray him. Then the sensation passed and he felt very
calm and in control. He looked Brownlee directly in the eye.

‘I know nothing of any plans for an escape
Sergeant Major. But if I did, why does the CO think that I would
betray my fellow prisoners?’

For a moment Brownlee seemed at a loss for
words. Then he said almost apologetically: ‘He said you should help
us because you are an Australian, Koko. He said you should do it
because you are one of us.’

‘I was once, Sergeant Major,’ Koko said
angrily. ‘But why would I want to be one of you now. Now the war
has shown me the true colors and the bigotry of white Australians.
You’re government took away my birthright and my freedom and allow
the men who raped and murdered my mother to run free.’ Koko rose to
his feet. ‘I find it hard to believe that after all you have done
to me you have the hide to ask me for help.’

‘We will make things easier for you,
Koko.’

‘But will you set me free?’

Brownlee sighed. ‘I’m sorry, Koko. But no-one
in the military has the power to do that.’

‘Then we have nothing to discuss, Sergeant
Major, do we?’

*

‘And what was it the sergeant major from the
Army camp wanted to talk to you about this time, Koko?’ Yakimoto
asked suspiciously

Koko looked at Yakimoto in surprise. The
painting work detail had only just entered the wash house to clean
up before the midday meal but already Yakimoto’s spies had reported
to him.

‘Come now, Koko, how many times must I tell
you nothing happens at this camp that I do not know about? You did
meet with the sergeant major, didn’t you?’

A flicker of a smile passed over Koko’s face.
‘I think you are speculating, Yakimoto. But you are quite correct.’
He nodded toward the latrines at the end of the wash house and the
two men walked away from the crowded area by the sinks and stood
side by side at a urinal.

‘The sergeant major brought me news from the
Northern Territory,’ Koko said quietly. ‘In return, the Army want
me to spy for them. It seems our preparations for escape have not
gone unnoticed. They suspect we are planning something. They wanted
me to tell them what I already know and keep my eyes and ears open
in the future.’

‘And?’

‘I told them I know nothing of any escape
plans.’

‘And you expect me to believe you.’

‘You must, Yakimoto. I told them nothing. If
I’d done otherwise would I be telling you this now.’

‘They must have offered you something—your
release from this place perhaps?’

‘They do not have the power. They are merely
jailers. If I cooperated with them, I would only jeopardize my only
hope of freedom and the chance to avenge my mother’s death. Unlike
you and the others, I don’t want to break out just so I can die
within hours to save face in the eyes of the Emperor. I want to
live long enough to do what I must do.’

‘If they suspect us, they will take measures
to contain us,’ Yakimoto said grimly. ‘They will bring in more
guards and more guns, perhaps even set up machine guns around the
fences. And they will move to lessen our numbers by transferring
some of us elsewhere. We are fortunate we are guarded by old men
and fools. By talking to you they have forewarned us. In future we
will watch them as they are watching us. If they start taking extra
precautions, we must be prepared to move our plans forward. You
have done well, Koko’

As they left the wash house Koko said, ‘When
I first told you I was going to try and escape, I asked you for
things like clothing, money and a few other items that the released
Japanese internees gave to you when they left. I have been loyal to
you today, Yakimoto. You will give me the things I need in
readiness for the escape, won’t you?

Yakimoto stared straight ahead as they
crossed the compound toward the canteen. Without turning his head
he said: ‘Just tell me what things you need, Koko, and you will
have them.’

CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE

Over the next few weeks the atmosphere at
Cowra prison camp changed. The first thing Yakimoto noticed was
that more of the guards had been issued rifles and some now carried
Bren guns. Then extra guards were posted at night to patrol the
roadways and no-man’s land areas between the compounds. Later, two
Vickers machine guns were set up at strategic areas adjacent to the
Japanese compounds. One was placed just outside the perimeter fence
close to a cluster of huts where a company of guards were billeted
and the other was mounted on a trailer parked out in the paddock
about seventy yards outside the fence.

As soon as each new security measure was put
in place, Yakimoto set about working out countermeasures to
overcome it. When the time for the breakout came, he knew it would
be paramount for the machine guns to be neutralized as quickly as
possible. Also the off duty guards would have to be overpowered and
their weapons seized before they realized what was going on.
Earlier, because of the lax security at the camp, Yakimoto had
considered making the break in daylight. Now there was no choice
but to make the attempt at night.

One evening when Koko returned to the hut
after his English instruction session, Yakimoto approached him
holding a tightly packed haversack.

‘Inside this bag is everything you asked me
for, my friend,’ Yakimoto said quietly. ‘Civilian clothes, money,
bandages, a razor, even a wristwatch. Everything was given to me by
one of the repatriated internees at Hay. He was an influential
banker from Tokyo and was about your size. I hope it is all you
need to get you to the Northern Territory.’ Suddenly Yakimoto’s
expression became grim.

‘What is it, Yakimoto?’ Koko asked anxiously.
‘What’s wrong?’

‘It was reported to me that one of the
Koreans met with Australian officers today,’ Yakimoto said
bitterly. ‘We questioned him this evening. He said the Koreans
don’t want to escape and they don’t want to be punished on account
of the Japanese. He said he told the Australians that we are
planning an escape.’

‘
You mean he admitted it?’ Koko asked
incredulously.

‘Yes. I told him we would kill him if he
didn’t tell us the truth.’

‘And would you have?’

‘Not before he confessed.’ Yakimoto said
casually. ‘I slit his throat afterwards and we tossed his body over
the fence into no-man’s land.’

Koko gasped. ‘What will happen when the
guards find it?’

‘They will know then, that we know they have
been alerted and they will move very quickly to thwart our plans. I
think they will try and transfer a lot of us to another camp just
as soon as they can.’

‘So what can we do?’

‘We too must move quickly. We need a rainy or
overcast night with poor visibility, and we need it soon.’

*

The Australians acted much more quickly than
Yakimoto expected. The very next day Yakimoto, another officer and
an NCO were marched over to the camp commandant’s office. The
commandant made no mention of the dead Korean but advised them that
five hundred Japanese prisoners of lower ranks were to be
transferred to the camp at Hay three days later.

‘They seek to divide and rule and also
confuse those of us who may be wavering because of the new machine
gun emplacements outside the fence,’ Yakimoto said angrily after
the group was marched back to their compound. ‘But they are so
stupid and lax, they still do not even man the guns twenty-four
hours a day. There are no soldiers manning them at this moment. We
will catch the fools napping. We must break out tonight regardless
of the weather. Send word to all the hut leaders that the
Australians are going to separate us and have them put it to their
men. Everyone knows the escape drill off by heart. Tell them I say
we must go now.’

Some of the hut leaders sent word back almost
immediately, others took longer, particularly the huts housing
older men, who began to have second thoughts about the escape. But
Yakimoto’s henchmen were quick to point out to the faint-hearted
that now Japanese forces were suffering reversals on land, at sea
and in the air, this was not the time to renege on their duty to
the Emperor and their homeland. For several hours Yakimoto
anxiously paced the floor, until all eleven hundred prisoners had
committed themselves to the escape..