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During the night of 11 April 1945, eight Australian Z Special commandos landed on Japanese-held Muschu Island, off the coast of New Guinea. Their mission was to reconnoiter the island's defenses and confirm the location of two concealed naval guns that commanded the approaches to Wewak Harbour. This was vital to ensure the security of the coming landings by the Australians in one of their final major actions of WW2. The eight Australians were dropped from their patrol boat - HDML 1321 - just on midnight, five miles north east of Muschu. They began the long paddle to the island in four kayaks but within an hour they found that unexpected ocean currents were pushing them south of their objective. Exhausted, hours later they reached Muschu, however the mission then went horribly wrong. Unknown to them, their presence had been discovered soon after they landed. With no means of escape, the island became a killing ground, with the Australians being hunted relentlessly by the Japanese garrison. Taken from the survivor's own diary, interviews with Australian and Japanese military personnel of the era plus Australian Army war archives, the author faithfully reconstructs the events leading up to, during and after that fateful mission. _______________________________________________ |
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Help find our Australian Z Special MIAs Background During the mission four members of the patrol escaped Muschu Island using palm logs for flotation. Their intention was to drift out to sea and use signal mirrors to attract the attention of Australian aircraft scheduled to search the area in the event of the patrol failing to rendezvous with HDML 1321 for extraction.
The four men set out on the night of the 12th April and were never seen again. (read Major Cardew's investigation report for more information) Until recently there have been no clues as to their fate. In November 2008, a contact from the USA, looking for a relative shot down while flying in an American light bomber near Muschu in February - March of 1945, contacted us to advise that Japanese records held by the US Navy describe how two Australian soldiers came ashore on Kairaru Island to the north of Muschu in mid April 1945. Oddly one man was reported to be naked, while the other was reported to be wearing only his trousers. Checks of Australian records reveal that no military personel (Army, Navy or Air Force) were missing in the area during that period other than the four men from Operation Copper One was described as being in good condition, the other's as "poor". Both men were reported to have "sickened and died" soon after they landed. There is no record of their identities other than being listed as "Australian soldiers". The assumption is that the Japanese executed them - the mandatory sentence laid down by the Japanese command for all captured Z Special Commandos. This may account for the lack of uniform worn by both men, although for the mission they would not have worn any insignia or carried any documents that could have identified them as belonging to Z Special. Could these men have been from the ill fated Z Special patrol? Preliminary inquiries with islanders in the area confirm that stories are told by elders about two Australians coming ashore and being taken prisoner during April 1945. None of this evidence has been recorded in Australian military files that we have been able to access. Inquiries are now underway with the US Pacific Command to verify whether these Japanese records do exist and to determine if any other evidence is available that may help us establish the identity of the men concerned. Ideally if we find that these reports are true, their resting place can be found and their identities determined using DNA samples. Relatives of these men have been waiting for many years for closure on the fate of their loved ones. Several have made contact with us and are now assisting in the search. We ask anyone who may have heard or knows of these events to contact us so we can further our search for our Missing In Action. If you have knowledge of the area and feel you can assist in any way, we'd like to hear from you.
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MIA Update: 12 January, 2010 Investigation Team Formed An investigation group has been formed and searches of records previously unavailable are providing additional information. One source describes the Yokahama War crimes Trials, and copies of these files are being obtained.
MIA Update: 14th January, 2010 Vital Evidence Located Copies of evidence collected between September 1945 and January 1949 compiled for the Yokahama War Crimes Trials is now being examined. These files include statements from Japanese and natives on Kairiru island, indicating that two Australians did come ashore on Kairiru mid April 1945. Whether they were from the Z Special mission is yet to be determined as the documentation does not identify any of the personel - in fact the Japanese when interogated, appear to be making a concerted effort to avoid revealing the identities of the captured men, other than to confirm that they were Australian soldiers. Much of this evidence post dates Major Cardew's investigation into the loss of the four patrol members, and from what we have examined to date, indications are that there is a high probability that the two men were from Operation Copper. Some of the documentation is headed as an investigation into the fate of the missing four men, and the line of interrogation is of a tone that indicates that the investigators believe that the Japanese executed both men who came ashore. Statements from Japanese officers and NCOs and other witness also support our earlier assumption that both men were executed by the Japanese, their bodies buried on the island and subsequently not recovered. One dossier indicates that an attempt was made to pass-off the cremated remains of a Japanese soldier as that of one of the Australians - whom they claimed "sickened and died" some days after swimming ashore. Other evidence in these records describe the execution of three Australian soldiers on Muschu Island and supports Mick Dennis' assertions that Major Cardew's investigation was flawed and that the Japanese commanders were indeed lying about the fate of the three Australians on Muschu. More updates coming. *** UPDATE MARCH 4, 2010 Two men possibly identified as Z Special A third still being investigated More evidence has been found by Jim Bourke of the Australian MIA organisation. It is believed from this that we have two possibly three Australian Z Special Commandos buried on Kairaru island. The identities of two of these men has been tentatively established, with a possibility of the third being known. His research has revealed that the Japanese went to great lengths between the dates of the executions (April 1945) and the subsequent interviews in 1947 by Australian War Crimes investigators, to conceal the truth about the executions. While there is still a great deal of work to be done to define probable burial locations, planning is in hand for a preliminary (non-dig) expedition to Kairaru later this year. Memorials to the seven men killed on the mission are also being planned and the opportunity would be taken to reconnoitre possible locations on both Muschu and Kairiru islands.
Read Canberra Times News Article
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Supporting reading: Major Cardews Investigation Additional evidence: How Temura and Tomei lied. War Crimes Investigation - Execution by Japanese of an Australian Soldier on Kairaru Island: Report from 1947 PDF 435k
Contact us via email: author@gunsofmuschu.com
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