Coastwatcher

Evans Goes Back

By a Staff Writer

Former Coastwatcher Reg Evans, the man whose scouts rescued President Kennedy after PTIO9 was cut in half by a Jap destroyer in the Solomons in 1943, had the “oddest feeling” that he had come home when he returned to the scene in May.

BACK on Kolombangara for the first time since the Kennedy affair, Evans slept two nights with the natives at Kuji village and told him self, “This is ridiculous. It’s like coming home. Yet I never lived here during the war; I slept up the hill”.

Two days later Evans made the two hour climb to his old spotting station “up the hill”, accompanied by two of his wartime scouts. He found many changes in the scenery, but none in his friends.

“They’re still nice people,” he said, “They’re settled in the villages and they appear to be quite happy.”

Reg Evans, then a lieutenant with the Australian Navy, was “up the hill” coastwatching on Jap-occupied Kolombangara on the night of August 1-2, 1943, when he saw Kennedy’s rammed PT boat aflame in Blackett Strait, without knowing what it was.

Several days later, after he himself had moved to a new station on Gomu island in Blackett Strait, he had his

scouts bring the young Kennedy to him hidden in a canoe. They had a cup of tea together.

Evans’ part in the rescue was just a line or two in the unofficial history of war until November. 1960, when PIM identified him as the man who had rescued the next US President— or, more accurately, Evans identified himself to PIM after we had begun seeking him out. The clue to his identity had been given by Eric Feldt, Since then, Reg Evans, these days a Sydney accountant, aged 57, has been to the States and met the President, been written into a book and been mentioned in song (in a US hit tune currently popular in Aus tralia, PTI 09).

On April 30, from Sydney, he headed back to the Solomons with US TV star Jack Parr, Parr’s camera man assistant Tom Cochrane and writer John Reddy of the Reader’s Digest. They chartered the 60 ft, MV Kingfisher from the BSIP Ports Authority, and Evans showed Parr the key spots in Blackett Strait.

These were all worked into a colour documentary to be released on US TV towards the end of the year.

Evans did not visit Honiara. He had only a short time in the BSIP and he had made up his mind to “climb that hill again”. He did that on his own after the Parr party left for Honiara.

“From Munda to Kuji on Kolom bangara I made a six-hour trip in a dugout with six Melanesians, and it was like old times again,” said Reg.

“I was made welcome in the house of the headman, old Etu, whom I knew in those days. I climbed Hipera hill—which was the last of three posts I had on Kolombangara— with one of my scouts, Ben Kevu.

I had seen Kennedy’s PT boat from that hill. On the way we stopped to rest (I had really had it after an hour—it’s 19 years later, remember!) and then there was a movement. Who should appear but old Zama.

“He was an oldtimer even during

the war and had lived up the with me then, and never came do Now they said he was much too ever to go up—but he followed us He wasn’t going to miss out,”

Reg said he could hardly recogi his old station (he had been on one about two months). A big they used to climb for a better v of Blackett Strait had now appeared. Other trees had grown from below, so now you 100 through trees instead of over th “Wouldn’t be any good for coastwatching camp now. As a ma of fact, 1 wouldn’t be much good

coastwatching, either!”

Reg Evans said that when he read Robert Donovan’s book, PTi he had taken with a grain of the story that the Kolombanj people still sang songs about PTIO9. But he found it was tru or almost true. They sang a s about the PT boats generally j the war. PTIO9 got a mention.

“Not a bad song either,” said F Reg Evans and his charming \ are old Islands hands. Reg’s cai in the South Seas goes back to 1 when he was in the New Hebri< By 1936 he was with Burns PI in the Solomons (at one time supercargo) and when war br out in 1939 he was at Tulagi. A: the war (he is a DSC winner) served for 12 years with the Coloi Service in Ghana and came back Sydney about three years ago.

He met his wife at Tulagi. N Evans’ sister is Miss K. Poole, kno widely in the BSIP as Governm Public Relations Officer, Honiara.,

SUVA MEETING: When a joint FAQ and SRC Regional Co-operatives Training Centre opened at the Nasinu Training College near Suva in May, representatives attended from various parts of the Pacific. In this photograph, the Governor of Fiji, Sir Kenneth Maddocks, speaks with some of the delegates. From left they are: Messrs. J. Korinihona (Solomon Islands), Mafalu Sakaio (Fiji), G. Kwong (of the GEIC, talking to the Governor), Sakenasa Rokotunidau (Co-operative Inspector, Fiji), J. Chan (Papua-New Guinea) and J. T. Fonmanu (Rotuma). Photo: S. A. Whippy.