AS another Anzac Day dawns in Bathurst, Max Perry, one of the last remaining Diggers to have witnessed the infamous Cowra breakout, has turned his thoughts to that night.
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Although he is about to turn 89, he says he still remembers that night like it happened yesterday.
On August 5, 1944, Private Max Perry was an 18-year-old trainee guard at the Cowra Army Camp 10 miles over the hill from the Japanese Prisoner of War (POW) Camp.
That night, he was told to keep lookout in case there was trouble at the camp.
“At 1am I saw flames coming from over the hill toward the POW camp. I immediately reported this to my officers in charge,” Mr Perry said.
“Our training battalion was called together and quite a lot of us were loaded on the army trucks and taken over to the POW camp.”
They had been given rifles, but no bullets. They suspected the officers thought they were so green that they were afraid they would accidentally shoot each other.
“On our arrival we were faced with dead Japanese soldiers. It was the same within the camp with bodies hanging from the wire fences in their attempt to escape,” Mr Perry said.
“It was 70 years ago but I remember it like yesterday. It was a shock to see so many dead bodies.”
He said the officers were concerned that the Japanese would try to take over the machine gun which was mounted in the POW camp. So, as a precaution, they removed a piece of the gun and threw it away.
As a consequence the Japanese soldiers killed the three Australian soldiers who were in charge of that machine gun. Two of those men – Privates B G Hardy and R Jones – were posthumously awarded the George Cross.
Hundreds of Japanese Prisoners of War escaped into open country.
Mr Perry said as morning dawned, the trainees were divided into pairs and told to go round them up.
He said with no bullets in their guns, they only had an empty rifle and bayonet.
At the same time, they were told not to get close to the escaped POWs because they could be armed with knives.
They were told if they could not see their hands, they shouldn’t approach them.
“Fortunately we had youth and speed on our side, because that’s about all we did have,” Mr Perry chuckled.
Mr Perry said that, at 18, it never entered their heads the POWs could be dangerous.
“The reality was, we were in more danger than they were,” he said.
“We did come across some Japanese soldiers that were badly wounded. One had his eyes shot out, but he was still defiant.
“We advised our officers and then we continued searching.
“The Japanese soldiers were prepared to die because they never wanted to be captured again.
“Many hanged themselves. We had to go and pick up the dead bodies."
He added: “As an Australian soldier you just do your duty.”
Mr Perry said there were several Australian Army guards killed – these would have been First World War veterans.
He had only been at the camp for three months before the breakout.
“Four hundred men from my battalion were sent over to the camp to hunt for – and we were hunting them – the escaped Japanese POWs,” Mr Perry said.
“Cowra town was panicking because there were so many rumours that the Japanese would make it into the township.”
Mr Perry said after the Cowra breakout, he was transported to Bacchus Marsh, a training centre for medics, in Victoria – something he enjoyed very much.
He was unable continue his infantry training due to poor vision in his right eye.