One-Day Campaign

A Fijian Goes to War

HOW Private Sairusi Koto, of a Fiji

infantry regiment on Bougainville,

took a day off at the front, was told recently in Suva by Sergeant-Major Bob Hewlett, of the Fiji Military Forces.

Private Koto was a driver, and his part in the war up until that day had merely required him to transport troops up to the front line, then take his truck back and wait for orders to go out and bring the men home at the end of each opera tion. This kind of life would be quite agreeable to some, but it didn’t suit Sairusi: he cursed the fate that had made him a driver. However, Sairusi finally got his chance when a call came for a small security party from those in camp to go out to the front line.

On arriving at the front he was de tailed with two Americans to take up positions on the perimeter, and on in structions from a sergeant they moved out to the edge of a small clearing beyond a minefield. Before returning to the perimeter, the sergeant warned them of the proximity of two Nip machine-gun posts, and pointed out their approximate positions. Sairusi and his companions settled down to wait.

AFTER a few minutes of waiting Koto told his two American companions that he was going to have a look at those Jap machine-gun posts, and then crawled out to a small hollow. Just as he arrived in the hollow he noticed a movement in the bush on his left, and after a few seconds he made out the figure of a Jap with a machine-gun.

He raised his rifle and fired. The Jap dropped. Sairusi then went over and brought the machine-gun and a knee mortar back to his two companions who, in the meantime, had spotted a sniper in the treetops.

Once again Sairusi’s rifle went into action and the sniper fell and rolled down to a small creek. While he was watching the dead sniper rolling down the bank he spotted another Nip sitting beside the water. Crack! went the rifle again, and Sairusi’s tally rose to three dead Nips.

Soon after, one of the American boys sighted two Japs through the clearing and pointed these out to Sairusi, who decided they were too far away for effec tive rifle fire and borrowed a Browning automatic rifle. He set up his new weapon and sent a burst into them—and they dropped. But, whether killed or only wounded, Sairusi’s party was unable to find out. As they were moving in to check the results of this fire they spotted another Nip creeping along a small creek.

At the same time Sairusi saw Private Vetaia Sadranu, a member of another battalion security patrol, on the far side of the creek and he yelled out to Vetaia in Fijian to close in on the Nip.

The Jap heard the cry, turned to his left and saw Sairusi, swung around to his risrht and saw Vetaia. He shot his hands up hurriedly. Sairusi closed in on him and brought him back, and the party, complete with prisoner, returned to the perimeter.

Sairusi Koto is reported to be quite satisfied with life at present: three Nips definitely killed, .two possibles, and one prisoner, a machine-gun and a knee mortar.

A former member of the Bank of NZ, Suva, Fiji, Mr. Hugh Coombe, has died of sickness while on active service in the Middle East with the NZEF. He had many friends in the Colony.