The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1944-07-06

There's O little pause, and then
there's the sweetest geyser of deck
splinters.
1t did some good, because in the
morning we found the Jap advance
guard, which had been headed right
for Java's beaches, now pulled back
a little, under that bomber-and-
fighter screen, waiting for the main
force to come on up.
Colonel Eubank was now in Jock
strap, and by telephone put prob
lem up to him. The position Of our
fighter pilots in Java was hopeless
now-any minute their field would
be hit by Jap bombers and put out
of operation. wanted them to turn
their P-40's over to the Dutch fight
er pilots twho had nothing left now
but three Hurricanes which had
been rescued from Singapore) and
come on out to Australia with us
where we could continue the war.
Further air defense in Java was
hopeless. We had broken camp at
Malang-Jap bombers were swarm
ing over the island.
"But Van Oeyen, the Dutch COM
mander, wouldn't listen. He was a
stout old infantry officer, and he had
given orders to fight to the last.
''We had to plead our viewpoint
with Van Oeyen. Yet it would be
hard to explain to men who were
defending their homes and families
in this beautiful island, whose lives,
when 1t fell, would be over.
THAT night, fifty miles off Sura-
baya, the naval battle was resumed.
The main Japanese invasion force,
ringed by submarines, was headed
for our beaches. At midnight the
United Nations Navy moved in to
throw their little all into the balance.
This final night the Dutch struck no
glancing blow. 1t was now or nev-
er. They moved in and fought them
toe to toe, the Australians at their
side. 1t was pitiful, OF course, and
hopeless, as all of them knew. But
the gallant Dutch preferred to die
fighting out in the night rather than
go skulking home to wait for the
Rising Sun tanks to come rafting
down their streets.
"Side by side, the Dutch and the
Australians plunged through that
outer ring of Jap submarines. The
American forces took up the last
defensive position, skirting the Jap
back edge, firing on the run. 1t
was our duty not to dissipate our
selves in lost causes, but to do what
damage we could, and conserve our
strength to strike again.
Java died that night in the gum
fire which came rolling in over the
water. 1t took until dawn for the
Jap battle feet to crunch to bits
the Dutch and Australian navies.
"But early the morning before I
had put in telephone call to Amer
ica. 1t was to Margo, but 1t was
government business and the Dutch,
when they understood what IL was
about, said they would pay the
charges themselves. They said the
connection might not be made until
midnight. I privately wondered If
1t would go through at all. Java was
collapsing fast all around us.
"But I said I'd take it whenever
1t came, knowing I'd get no sleep
that nightingale little sleep for
many nights. So at midnight start
ed for the telephone office. Just as
was leaving the hotel I ran into
Commander Peterson of the Navy's
Patrol Wing 10. BY now he was al
most the sole survivor. He seemed
surprised to see me, told me he was
just leaving for his plane-the last
of the Navy was leaving Java. He
asked how | expected to get out. /
said I didn't know. Come with me
now,' he said, and I'll take you out
to Australia. couldn't. There was
that telephone call. And also I
mustn't leave those American fight
ers to be swallowed up in the COL
lapse tomorrow. So I thanked him;
we said goodby.
Walking to the telephone build
ing | could hear dull rumble in
the hot midnight air coming from
far over the water. The few people
in the blacked-out streets assumed it
was distant thunder. knew it was
the little Dutch Navy in its final
agony out there in the dark.
"Then I waited in that dim-lit
mosquito-filled telephone building
for that call. Sitting on a bench,
with the help of fiashlight made
my notes for the call. Then I paced
the floor. Each time the window
opened, letting out a little light, I
was sure the half-caste girl was
telling me the call had been COM
pleted. I had other pressing busi-
ness, but none more pressing than
this. I thought of the eager face of
the boy just before he went out into
what looked like almost certain
death. Unless could deliver his
message. he would have died for