WRONG TURN FOR "AMERICAN CAESAR"

Bought   at  a  school  fair   the  day  of   the  Australian  election   battle ,  this  book claims   that  General   Douglas MacArthur  made   his   famous  statement, “ I shall  return  [to the Philippines ]   ” in    Darwin   soon   after   he  arrived  in  Australia . This   came   as  a  surprise  as   it  is  the  first   time  I  had   read  such  a  statement.  Prior  to   this ,  I  had   regarded   the   former   railway   terminus   town   of   Terowie , South  Australia,  as   the  place  where  he   declared  his  intention . Indeed  there  was   a  plaque  to  that   effect  when  I  visited   the    town  some  20  years ago ,  which  at   the time   had  a  shop which  specialised in  doilies  and   another  old wares   business, the latter closed at  the  time ,   an  overall  air  of   desolation , its wide  main street  making it  an   ideal   setting  for  a   High Noon   shoot- out  movie.  Today ,  The    Historic  Town  of  Terowie  website   contains the  following:

 

 

Terowie  became a large military camp in 1942. When US General Douglas MacArthur arrived   on  our  platform  in  March  1942  with  his  wife and  son  after escaping  from the   Philippines  and   his  famous words "l came out of Bataan and I shall return" were reported  here.

However ,  the book,  published in 2000  by  Presidio  Press, California , USA ,   tells  a  different story.  On  page 13, author   Gailey  says  the general , his family, and   17  senior staff officers  escaped the  Japanese  in  two  battered   B-17 planes  and   landed  at   Batchelor  Field,  south  of   Darwin .   It  goes  on  to say   that  on   March  17, 1942 ,   the   general  met  reporters  in  Darwin  and used  the  phrase  : “I shall return.”   From   Darwin,  most of   his  staff  , the “Bataan Gang, “ flew  to  Melbourne . Macarthur , his  wife  and   son   made  the   long  rail  trip to  Alice  Springs , the  book   erroneously  continues.    Part of  the   journey  must have   been    by  vehicle   as  the   line  stopped  at  Birdum , a long way  from  Alice , where the rail  ran  through to South Australia . 

 Interesting   accounts  of   what   transpired  in   Alice  Springs  have  been   gathered  by  me  over the  years.  Prominent   Alice   Springs  resident , the  late   Senator  Bernie  Kilgariff , a  young  boy  at  the  time ,  firmly  stated   there  was  a   dog  with   General  MacArthur’s   party.  This   raised  the   possibility  that  it  had  been   brought   from  the  Philippines . The idea  that  a  dog  had  been  rescued   while  so  many  Americans  had  been  left  behind, overwhelmed   by  the  Japanese , was  raised  by   Kilgariff   when   he  discussed  the  subject  with   me  on   several  occasions . A  former Speaker of   the  NT  Legislative Assembly, a  founding member of the Country Liberal  Party ,  Kilgariff ,86,  was   given  a  state funeral  after  he  died April 13, 2010.

 During WW11, Kilgariff  was   a sergeant  in the 2/5^th Battalion , AIF;  he and  several other  soldiers  signed  this Japanese  flag   which  had  been  souvenired   during  fighting  on  the Kokoda Track. Over  the  years ,  the   signatures  faded  badly   and   NT  Police Force  forensic  expertt, Kym  Chilton,  of  Darwin,  was  able  to  use  special  lighting  to   draw  up  a complete  list  of  the  signatories.   Kilgariff  had   the  flag  framed  and  it is  now believed to be  in the  Alice Springs  RSL.

 

Another   source  of   first- hand  information   about  the  general   was   Les  Penhall,  a clerk  with  the  Native Affairs Department   in  Darwin  the  day  it  was bombed for  the first time, February 19, l942.  He  and  three  other   clerks   travelled  to   Alice Springs  in  a  truck  under  the  direction   of  Police  Superintendent , Alf  Stretton  .  Arriving   late   at  night  in  Alice, Penhall, 18, bunked down  in  a  police  cell . One  of  the tasks  he  was  given  was  that  of   helping  compile  a  list  of  crewmembers, many  of  them  Chinese  and  Malays , off  ships  sunk  in  Darwin ,  who  were   brought  south   in  convoys.

 

 

 General   MacArthur’s   party  arrived   in   Alice  during   that   time ;  Penhall  said  he  did  not  take too  much  notice  of  this   American  military  man, said  to  be  some  kind of  “  bigshot .” However ,the general’s   son,  about   four , made  a  menace  of   himself  by   riding  a  tricycle  about  the  Stuart  Arms  Hotel,  bumping  into  people’s legs   and  furniture .  Mrs  MacArthur  seemed  a  nice  woman ,  Penhall  added.  He   thought   the   MacArthurs   departed  after  two  days.     After  war   service ,  Penhall  returned  to  the  NT  with    the   Native  Affairs  Department  and   took  part    in  the  last   police  camel   patrol  which  investigated  a  murder .  He  died  early  this  year.

 *** This   interesting book   is   dedicated  to  the   Australian  and  American  soldiers  who , in  the  deadly  Papuan campaign, reversed  the   Japanese advance in the Pacific. In  dealing  with   the  battle at    Milne   Bay , where  the  Japanese  suffered  their  first  defeat,  there  is brief   mention  of  the episode in  which  the  Australian , Corporal  John  French ,  destroyed  three  machine  gun  positions  before  being   killed ,  posthumously   awarded  the  Victoria Cross .  His name  and  photograph  can be seen  on  the above   Townsville  waterfront Heroes' Way   memorial .  The  late  NT  crusading  editor , Jim Bowditch, was  present  at  the time  and   saw  French  charge  and  then   fall .    His  account  of  the  fierce  battle  has  appeared in  the  Bowditch  biog being  serialised  in   Little Darwin. The    school  fair  book  was  an  affectionate Christmas  gift to  someone  called “Pooh”.  ( By  Peter  Simon ).