Coastal Watchers

GuadCoastalwatchers

Coastal watchers, with their work in remote areas and behind enemy lines, tend to bridge the gap between an intelligence group and espionage. They were in the Pacific to watch for enemy activity and report back by radio. Most all of the men were Australian and part of the “Ferdinand” organization, which dated back to 1939. Those recruited had been planters, missionaries and colonial officials that were on outposts on such islands as New Guinea, the Solomons, and the Bismarks. These men often sent the Allied air forces at Guadalcanal several hours warning of an incoming raid, allowing the fighters ample time at Henderson Field to take off and gain altitude. An estimated 120 Allied airmen had been rescued by the coast watchers in the first year alone.

Capt. Martin Clemens & native aides

The commander of this unique group was Lt. Commander Eric Feldt, a graduate of Australia’s first class of naval cadets and a veteran of WWI. He personally knew his recruits and was determined to set up a solid chain between New Guinea and the Solomons. By mid-1941 he had 64 stations operating with a teleradio with a range of 400 miles for voice communication and 600 miles for radiotelegraphy. Feldt only envisioned these men to watch for enemy naval sorties, raids, etc.; hence their title “Ferdinand” named from the pacifist bull in the children’s story. But, when these islands became overrun with Japanese, spying and sabotage took place; often with the assistance of the natives.

Some engaged in guerrilla activities, the most successful was New Zealand coast watcher, Donald G. Kennedy at Segi Point on New Georgia where he ambushed over a hundred enemy soldiers and ran a small flotilla of schooners to rescue downed air men. A Japanese company was sent in to kill him, but Kennedy radioed for help and 2 companies of the 4th Marine Raider Battalion brought him out. This was the vanguard of the New Georgia invasion.

an early memorial to the coastal watchers who were beheaded

8 December 1941, on Makin in the Gilbert Islands, all Europeans had been rounded up and imprisoned by the Japanese and those coastal watchers were killed. At Bougainville, as the Europeans were being evacuated in the late part of 1941 and early ’42, Jack Read and Paul Mason remained behind and became part of the organization. They were credited with the earliest warnings of the Japanese air raids against Henderson Field.

Other notable watchers were: Donald S. MacFarland and Kenneth D. Hay at Gold Ridge on Guadalcanal; Leigh Vial operated around Salamaua and gave early warnings of the Japanese raids on Port Moresby. (His nickname was the “Golden Voice,” but unfortunately killed in an air crash in April 1943.

Sailors of injured and sunken ships also benefited from the Ferdinand operations. The most famous of which is the retrieval of the crew of PT-109 and the 165 survivors of the Helena whose lifeboats drifted ashore on Vella Lavella.

Catalina, 1945 in Australia

These men were supplied with food, medicine and benzine for their teleradio chargers by air drop from Australian ‘Catalinas’. Because these drops had to take place in inaccessible areas of rugged terrain to avoid Japanese interference, the flights were dangerous. One Catalina crashed on Bougainville during one such mission on 26 April 1943. Three of the crew were killed instantly and two eluded the enemy and were evacuated by submarine. In August 1944, five teams of coast watchers were landed at the base of the Gazelle Peninsula on New Britain. Four survived to give early warning of raids against New Guinea.

Other watch groups were the U.S. Naval Group ‘China’ that trained coast watchers to track down Japanese merchant shipping movements along the China coast. Their headquarters in the town of Changchow and operated in teams of two American sailors, a Chinese interpreter, a Chinese weather observer and 6 or more guerrillas.

Coast watchers were not exclusively an Allied asset. As the Allies advanced into areas formerly controlled by Japan, coastal watchers from the enemy remained behind to report activities.

90′ tall lighthouse memorial where the watchers made their 1st sightings of enemy forces, Dec. 1941 Madang, Papua, New Guinea

Click photos to enlarge.

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Farewell Salute –

Helen K. Persson – originally from Bethlehem, PA, Lt. Commander, U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, WWII

Frank Lautenberg – Bergen County, NJ, U.S. Army Signal Corps, ETO; Last Senator to have served in WWII

Robert A. Castle, Sr. – originally Lawrence, MA; U.S. Army in Korean War, 185th Combat Engineers

Kenneth Wilford Parker – West Palm Bch, FL, U.S. Navy WWII

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Resources – “The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia;” http://www.eaglespeak.us; http://www.ww2incolor.com