The Guns of Muschu by Don Dennis

Author:Don Dennis
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: HIS004000
ISBN: 9781741159677
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd
Published: 2013-03-09T05:00:00+00:00

23. SIXTH DIVISION HQ, AITAPE:

14 APRIL, 1600 HOURS

At the afternoon briefing, the SRD detachment commander announced that as the Operation Copper team had failed to make rendezvous with HDML 1321 on the nights of April 12 and 13, it was likely the patrol had run into ‘unexpected difficulties’. The Navy would, however, continue patrolling the area: HDML 1321 was due to be relieved on station by a Fairmile—a larger patrol vessel—which would remain in the area, checking the alternative rendezvous points for the next four nights. Tactical Reconnaisance aircraft would also continue their flights twice a day in accordance with the contingency plan, but as yet they’d sighted nothing.

The chances of all the patrol’s radios failing simultaneously were remote. They’d either lost them or were being prevented from using them. Coupled with failure to make the rendezvous, the outlook, while not yet hopeless, ‘wasn’t favourable’.

There was a moment’s silence from those gathered at the briefing, as the realisation sank in that the eight men were probably dead or had been captured by the Japanese. However, everyone had become accustomed to the setbacks of war—there’d be time for grieving later.

The briefing resumed, moving on to the next item, a review of Senator James Fraser’s visit to the Aitape area. It seemed the Senator’s ‘meet the troops’ soiree had resulted in a welter of complaints to the politician, who’d beaten a hasty retreat to the officer’s mess before boarding his C-47 back to Australia. There was a faint ripple of laughter.

After the briefing, Captain McKay spoke in private with the SRD commander, asking if anything more could be done for the Muschu patrol. The commander merely shrugged and reminded him there was still hope. But, he added, seeing that there’d been no radio communication, even what little hope they had was fading. The patrol could be hiding somewhere on the island well away from the coast, but this was a long shot. And even if they were, unless there was some means of flying in and plucking them from the jungle, nothing could be done for them.

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