Early Jan. 22, 1942, 11 Japanese warships with strong air protection were sighted in the Bismarck Sea. Before the day was over, they had landed on New Britain, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. They told the natives that they came as liberators from those white fools. "They were only here to exploit you. We are going to take good care of you."
After making all kinds of promises to the Solomon Islanders, the Japanese then turned and started to treat them like dirt. This was not the way they were treated by the British. The natives soon began to resent the Japanese; then they started to hate them. As a result, when the Marines landed, the natives ended up being great allies, particularly in their natural capacity as scouts.
Jacob Vouza was undoubtedly the most prominent of these scouts. He once brought in a report of a Japanese radio station. On Aug. 19, a company of Marines went out to investigate. The patrol made contact and, after a brief battle, secured the radio station. They discovered they were part of the Imperial Army and not just a naval landing force.
Later, Vouza had taken a group of scouts to check on the movements of the Japanese troops. The Americans had given him a small American flag that he was to take back to his village. The Japanese discovered the flag on him and were infuriated. They smashed his head repeatedly with rifle butts and then jabbed him over and over with bayonets. Vouza finally passed out. Believing their prisoner to be dead, they left him in the brush for the animals, but this tough Solomon Islander was not quite done. He regained consciousness and began to crawl toward the American lines. Astonishingly enough, he reached the Marines' perimeter where he gasped out what he knew and collapsed.
Vouza was nursed back to health and went back again scouting against the hated Japanese. The Marines made him an honorary sergeant major. After the war, Vouza enjoyed greeting Americans, especially Marines, as they came to Guadalcanal. He was always invited to the reunions of the 1st Marine Division. He sent the following message in answer to one invitation: "Tell them I love them all. Me old man now, and me no look good no more. But me never forget."
Our troops have made many lasting friends throughout the entire world. When we are young, friends are like everything else, a matter of course. As we grow older, we come to know what it really means to have them. As we pray for our troops, let us also remember the friends they have made.
Charles R. Pearson, Chaplain
American Legion Post #375, Malvern
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