Interview with Peter Lait (Interview)
(Indigenous perspective)
This interview was conducted by Dr Iwamoto Hiromitsu and transcribed/translated by Pastor Jacob Aramans

My name is Peter Lait. I was born in my native village of Tadis. I am now 25 years old. My parents worked with the mission of Westcoast. In a small village called Dim. In 1942 I went to a Mission School at Pinikidu and on that same year the war started. The Japanese arrived here to claim this country. When they arrived in this country they did not arrive in Rabaul first, rather they came to Kavieng first. Later they went to Rabaul. Our school lives during the war was good. A navy commander, Mensebu, was a good guy. He told the teachers that they must allow us to go to school. He told the teachers that they must allow us to go to school. He gave the certificates to the teachers. At the close of November 1942 American and Australian war planes started fighting the Japanese soldiers in the New Ireland. They were based at Mira, one of the islands in Musau. Every morning at six o clock they would fly over and fight their enemies and then return back to their base at Mira island. The planes also flew over in the night throwing bombs at their enemy targets. There were some kind of lights that they used at nights. They would drop these lights like a big piece of laplap that came down like an umbrella at their enemies targets and dropped bombs. So the fight actually started in the morning up untill the nights. At sea the submarines fired the short,torpedoes and destroyed many houses on the beach and killed many of the people. The American submarines killed some of our people. The Japanese also had submarines and warplanes. One thing I noticed before that is surprising to see not happening now is that the war planes fought each other in the air. They fired shots at each other. Machines were fired from the ships and the land. If the bullets hit the pilots or the engine the planes crashed to the ground. The warplanes also threw bombs onto the ships, hit them, and the ships sunk into the ocean. Many big Japanese ships were in the sea. The ships transported cargo, soldiers and other war equipment all through the war from 1942 up until the war ended in1945. There were certain things which the Japanese wanted the people to follow: Firstly, they wanted people to follow instructions and not to be bigheaded. If you didn’t do this they would punish you by killing or beheading straight away. If you listened, followed and carried out the order that was given to you, you would easily befriend them. That was the way of the Japanese. When the Americans arrived here in Mira they bombed bridges and threw things to block the roads to try and to stop the Japanese from moving ahead but the Japanese would not stop, they continued to build them again. For instance, if a bridge was destroyed by a bomb, like in my village at Tandis where there was a bridge and also at Liba, bamboo was used to build bridges to allow cars to travel across. If a car was travelling on the bridge and a bomb was dropped we would save the car by hiding it. We put our lives at risk just to protect the car from falling over the bridge. That was because we were afraid of the Japanese. The men did that until the car was brought to a secured place. Japanese also were good gardeners. They were not a bunch of lazy people. If they wanted to make a garden, one day would they would clear the bushes, cut the trees down and remove them and finally they would sow seeds or plant crops. They were also hard and hurt people. When they did work with them people must do so. Obey instructions was what the Japanese believed in. If people did not follow their orders people would be punished. Another thing, the Japanese are great fish eaters. Whenever they wanted to eat fish they would come up to us in the bush, ring the bell and all men had to go to the sea. The men would go up to the reef and it was a must that every man should come back with a fish. If a fisherman came back empty handed he would be punished. If they wanted to eat pork meat, we would go into the bushes with dogs and bring back the meat for them. The Japanese way of butchering and preparing a pig for consumption is totally different from the New Irelanders. For us, we brought a pig, cut dried coconut leaves, lit up a fire and burnt off the pig's fur then the pig is butchered. The Japanese removed all the skin including the fur and chopped the pig's head off and cut it into cookable sizes and cooked it for consumption. They would always leave the skin with fur and head and we would normally take them away, cook them and eat them. Japanese ate different types of food. During the war they ran out of food because many of their routes were cut off. However, they still had a lot of local food. They have different methods of preparing food. They would dig up the main root of the pawpaw tree that grew right down to the ground, wash it and then have it's outside skin removed. They used what they called "Miso" to boil it and eat with it. They got fire ash and mixed it with it to give it a bitter taste and make it taste more delicious. Young bamboo shoots were also good. We got these young shoots and removed their skins, then we would get the soft ones inside, boil them and using ashes of certain wood, especially the ashes of coconut skin, as salt to add on in order to stop it's bitter taste makes it taste more better for consumption. Miso is a good spice - when cooking food, you add it to the food and it keeps a delicious taste. The syllabus that we learnt in school during the time of the war and also what the mission wanted was to learn things in Rabaul's kuanua language. And when we went to the Japanese school at Kalibi along the Westcoast and when the fighting became stronger, I ran away to my elder brother at Kiapas who was a mission boy at Kalibi. We lived at the camp in the village and at night we saw huge Japanese ships arrive. When they came they built a school for Kalibi, and they also built a factory for making biscuits and they set their guns on the mountains. There were many soldiers who were trained to work and handle everything that they had. The Japanese ships sailed around Kalibi looking for pigs. They got different pigs and separated them. Whenever they wanted to cook one of those pigs the man in charge of those pigs would get his knife and cut off the pig's neck and butcher it. The teacher taught us some lessons. We learnt the ABC and some other words and numbers or figures in their language. We really enjoyed living with them and learning from them. When the Americans came with their warplanes they caused confusion among us. Otherwise, the kids would go to school. The kids from Danu, Misi, Kolomubua, they all came. When we went to school, we went into the classroom and they taught us their alphabet. When writing their letters, we were always careful so that we would know it. At my Bolobina village, a letter was thrown out of the plane which was addressed to the tultuls, luluais and the doctors. Whenever they wanted men to dig holes in the night or chop down coconut trees they would draw a picture of a man holding an axe and chopping the coconut tree or holding a spade to dig a hole. So whenever the people see the papers coming from the Japanese with these pictures they knew exactly what to do. If they wanted fish they would draw pictures of a man with a fishing line and a fish. The men would know that they wanted some fish so they would go fishing and come back with some fish. To me, I think this is easy to learn and communicate through pictures. It does not require a person to know how to read or write to understand. When the Japanese wanted five people to go and catch fish they would draw the pictures of five men with fish. Here in my village at Bologum point the Japanese set up a school and I went to that school for a short while. Before the war I attended a mission school at the west coast where my brother was a mission boy. At Kalibi where the Japanese main base was they set up a factory. In this factory, they made cigarettes, cooking utensils and other things. The important thing the Japanese wanted was no bigheadedness - you had to learn to listen and carry out orders. The Second World War belongs to Japan. That was when they arrived here. While they were here they faced a lot of problems as well as the local people here. I think if the Americans hadn't arrived here with their war planes and bombed the Japanese, everything would have been okay. The Americans flew in and bombed the Japanese three times a day: In the morning (at six o'clock), at midday and in the evening. The soldiers didn't settle down well. Japanese high ranking officers also didn't think well and we, the people, lived in fear at night. We were warned not to make fire or hold any lights at night. If we did, the enemy would come straight away and throw bombs at us. During the war these two things were forbidden: Making fire and light. One time we went to Kalibi, and stood up in lines and a man acting as a Priest or a Minister stood on a pulpit and made prayers. When he mentioned certain words we would turn around and look at the sun in the direction of the East. I thought that must be the Japanese way of worshipping their gods. In every Japanese soldier’s uniform there were small pockets at the front. The soldiers put their hands in those pockets and we were also made to put our hands on theirs. We were made to follow them. We didn't feel afraid because we were all good friends. I asked a Japanese “what does this mean”. He answered that by performing this you became a new born Japanese Christian so that the gods would protect you during the fight. I believe in Christianity however during the war our lives were a bit different. At times they sang good songs. In 1976 we went to Japan as a company delegation with our regional Member of Parliament Mr Robert Koass and Davis Carpenter. We arrived in Osaka and stayed at Kainolnabhu and went to Hiroshima and slept at the palace of the King of Hiroshima. The wall of the King's palace was built from a special kind of paper material which would last for a long period. I asked them why they used these type of materials and they answered that it was the Japanese style or model of house. We went up the hill and got a good view and saw the big city of Hiroshima which the Americans bombed that resulted in millions of lives being lost. And then we traveled through the city and visited big timber and paper factories. Yamamoto was the boss who gave us the helmets to wear for protecting our heads while visiting the factories. We saw how they worked on the assembly lines. They rested for a short break, ate what they wanted to eat and got back to work. Their eating habits were demonstrated during the war. During the war they ate fast and also plenty. Here in New Ireland during the war they built a road to the West Coast and there were people who helped them construct the road from Kalus to the West Coast. They walked through the bush track called Yangoru. Yangoru bush, Yangoru rope was the kind of words used by the Japanese during the war. Japanese scouts used Yangoru ropes and sticks or cut signs on trees to direct others where to go or how to do things. This also showed the route to follow. During the war the Japanese issued us with identification papers like a passport. Where ever we went this ID had to be with us. The ID contained the photo of a person. If anybody lost it or forgot to pick it up the Japanese would be suspicious of you and you could be put to death. So we carried our ID cards everywhere - whether to the garden or the bush this piece of paper had to be with us. Even though the Japanese knew you, you still would have to have it with you. If not they would regard you as a number ten boy which means that you are not a good person or you could probably be a spy from another village or place. While we were in Japan and in Osaka I noticed something there a bit different. As we walked and came up and I asked our boss/leader who was leading us? Why they said that a boy was not a number ten boy but a security guard. The security guard asked and checked the people who were in and out of the office or a residence or factory. So the security kept the bad people outside and didn't have to come inside to disturb the people. If they did so they would be brought to court. The Japanese also introduced that idea during the war when people had to have identification papers to travel around. Also the security was introduced during the war to make sure people didn't tell lies and to make sure they followed all the rules set by the authorities. During the war they don't allow people to travel from one place to another place or island to island. For instance, the people of Tabauka were not allowed to go to the West Coast. Furthermore if you were from Tabari or Laburua, or Kimidan you must remain there. If you wanted to go to another village or island you must get the authorisation letter to go the other place. Because in every village and island here there were Japanese soldiers who were stationed there. When you entered the place you had to give the letter to whoever the boss was there and if he said yes and approved it then you can enter the village. The soldiers made sure that the letter was from the police of Kebertai or Lemetai. All those rules that were set by the Japanese were strictly observed and followed. There are certain times the American's spies went into the bush and tried possible ways to spy on the Japanese but they were caught and punished. How the people were controlled and looked after by the Japanese during the war was very active and strong. Travel was restricted and people were afraid to move around freely. Some men from the village became soldiers and were brought to Kimidan. At Kimidan a small test was given by Hu, Weho and counting members and other exercises. In the exercises they made a dummy man stand up at a distance and they practiced by shooting that dummy. Whoever hit the target he passed the test and became a soldier or police. One of our man in the village became a policeman. His name was Abraham Kapul. He wore a full uniform however the only thing that they were not allowed was to be issued with guns. Instead the policemen were being issued with whips and a wooden piece of rod for beating people up. I don't know the reasons and the thoughts of those soldiers of Lemetai, Kemetai and Mensebu as well as from my village. And those of Kalili and the West Coast they were looking after the pigs. The soldiers and those native police or soldiers who looked after the pigs their uniforms, especially their caps, were different. There was a picture of a pig on it. Those who were working in the gardens had a fork printed on the back so every body knew what they were doing. To me I think a soldier should have a gun beside him. Those of Lemetai, Kebetai and of Mensebu also have the same thoughts. Those security guards close to the bosses or commanders they were issued with guns. Some Japanese captains spoke some pidgin and English. They lived at Kasiro,and because they spoke two languages they were appointed to be captains. He should know everything like whenever the Japanese shot down an enemy plane and whatever the message he picks up was quickly reported to the higher command. He reported things like how many people/soldiers on a plane that was shot down. Like for example on the West Coast when the Japanese shot an American war plane and it crashed on the reef at Kolamu. There were some black soldiers, not Papua New Guineans probably. The Black Americans also were with the White Americans. At Kalibi, they caught a black soldier and beat him up. The Japanese were also very clever - they took a piece of skin from that soldier because they wanted to find out more about where that soldier came from and put it under a machine called a microscope to study it. So during the war, the Japanese came with all these things. In the history of the war and when we went through the summary list of the victims in the war, I found that the Japanese cut off breasts from the women and ate them and also did many bad things like rape. However during the war here no such thing like that happened. The only incident that occurred was when two women came back from the garden and passed through a newly planted coconut plantation when two Japanese soldiers came out and chased them. One woman managed to jump over the fence and escaped into the bushes. The other woman had a problem with her leg and could not escape by jumping the fence and therefore they raped her. That was in Toondis and in the other areas of Rubbitai, Kidia and other areas of New Ireland province, there was no other bad things like raping women or chopping off their breasts and boiling them and consuming them, as according to the claims taken on the summary list of the war that I saw. Incidents like that must have happened in other areas and not here. The summary list of the war on what happened was divided into columns: In column one it indicated the number of rapes, column two showed the number of killings, how many soldiers or people were killed, and column three reported on cannibalism and others described some of the other methods of killings like for example, how Peter Torot was killed. He was probably injected with some kind of poison which killed him. The last column showed the number of carriers. On the list of recorded information, many of these incidents happened in other places and not here. After the war, people received a little bit compensation on their properties and other damage that they received during the war. In 1951 the Australian Government paid K500 to the people who were carriers. Others did not receive any pay to compensate for their labour and the sufferings they received. That was the main reason why the bishops in Tokyo raised the issue that compensation has to be paid to victims of the war. They thought that if this issue of war victims was not compensated how could big organisations such as the United Nations talk about peace in the world. The issue of war compensation got to be critically looked at and considered so that the countries thinking about starting wars would think about the consequences they would face after the war. The Japanese invaded about ten countries during the war. Some of these countries have received their compensation and only the Marshall Islands, Kakil and Papua New Guinea haven’t been paid compensation by the Japanese Government.