The Bone Man Returns

Finding Captain Templeton

Kokichi Nishimura waded ashore at Salamaua just before 1 am on March 8, 1942; he believed Japan was only months away from capturing Australia and the South Pacific.

The young soldier and his regiment had swept through Guam and smashed the brief resistance in Rabaul. Now they were about to storm Salamaua, allowing Japanese planes to head south unimpeded to Port Moresby and, onto Australia.

Corporal Nishimura was 21, and in his naivety could scarcely have imagined the torment that lay ahead on the treacherous Kokoda Track. Nor could he have contemplated the possibility that hellish fighting with desperate Australian troops would bind him to that precipitous mountain track for the rest of his life. The Japanese were unsuccessful in their attempt to take Salamaua, with their landing craft being destroyed by allied bombing they were forced to withdraw back to Rabaul. A new plan had been developed, they would now land at Buna and move towards Port Moresby over the Owen Stanley Ranges.

Buna

In July 1942 a young 22 year old Imperial Japanese Soldier Kokichi Nishimura crouched in his landing craft, a sword on his hip a gun in his hand and stared at the glittering black sand and fluorescent water of his destination Basabua Beach near Gona. His landing craft slid quietly towards the beach under the cover of darkness, his heart was racing his mind fixed on his orders; secure the beach area at whatever the cost…., this time they would succeed.

70 years later that same Imperial Japanese Soldier has returned to Gona Beach, this time in a wheel chair and now aged 90. He has returned to PNG to solve one of the great enduring mysteries of the Kokoda Track, the disappearance of Captain Sam Templeton.

The Bone Man returns to Gona Beach 

In January 2010, I waited in the early hours of a Sunday morning at Port Moresby’s International airport for the arrival of Kokichi Nishimura and his daughter Sachiko from Japan. I had arranged for Nishimura and his daughter to come to PNG and help me identify the place that he had buried Captain Templeton. We would also be joined by our Japanese interpreter Mr. Ishii, and Derek Brown and his son Rory. Derek is based in Tokyo and was instrumental in introducing me to Nishimura. My wife Michelle my son Blake and my two daughters Elysia and Erika would also accompany us on this exciting adventure.

Nishimura, rugged up from a cold Japanese winter was surprisingly sprightly after his overnight flight from Japan. He was bright, animated and very energetic; his hand shake was firm and friendly. He still looked strong, his body lean and fit. The only concession he showed for his age was the use of a wheel chair, his legs finally giving out. He was returning home to PNG, returning to his family and friends that he had shared the past 25 incredible years.

Nishimura would have been a formidable opponent in his youth; he was smart, strong the consummate warrior, cunning, lethal and indestructible. I was pleased he was now allied to our cause and committed to solving the mystery of Captain Sam Templeton.

I was fortunate to have met Nishimura on three occasions in his home in Tokyo, at times he had looked tired and worn out, but now back in PNG he had a new lease on life a zest for the adventure ahead and a determination to make one last pilgrimage to pay respect to his fallen comrades.

Nishimura had left PNG three years earlier returning to Tokyo to live out his final years with his daughter Sachiko, he never thought that he would come back to PNG after satisfying himself that he had done a good job in honouring his promise to his comrades. As we were about to find out with Nishimura the job is never finished and he believes the impossible is possible and to never say never.

Our plan was to fly into Popendetta and travel by truck up to Oivi. I had scheduled three days in Oivi for our investigation. Our truck picked up our party from the Popendetta airport and we began our four hour journey up the Buna Kokoda road towards Kokoda and our destination Oivi. We had four of my best guides with us, Noel, Duffy, Martin and Samson. These lads would make sure all our logistics were in place and that Nishimura would have the very best care.

We had not yet left Popendetta before Nishimura had us detouring to his old house in Popendetta. He had rung ahead and told his PNG family that he was coming.

As we pulled into the driveway we were amazed by the amount of people who had come to see him. His PNG family had prepared a welcome fit for a returning king. In true Nishimura style he took it in his stride. It was a warm and emotional return for Nishimura and also for Sachiko who had also stayed with her father at Popendetta. Nishimura reflected with his old friends and family on his time in Popendetta and his time on the track recovering the remains of his comrades. One story that Nishimura told was how he evacuated out of Basabua as one of the last able soldiers before the Australians stormed the place, and his incredible pledge to come back for the soldiers left behind. He survived and escaped by walking along the sea floor for 4 days. The water lapping at his nose, he walked very slowly and carefully so as not to disturb the water as the Australians were watching for any signs of Japanese in the water.

Nishimura recalled "I can never forget that pledge to my comrades, “It was January 12 1943, and our food had run out. By then I weighed less than 30 kilograms and, like the other troops, I was eating the flesh of dead enemy soldiers just to stay alive.

"Those who were strong enough were evacuating from the coast, deserting the weak and ordering them to keep the Australians and Americans at bay. So I said to the soldiers left behind: 'No matter what happens, if you die in this land I will come back for you, and I'll return you to Japan to rest with your families. This is my promise to you'."

Nishimura had made a pledge and he would honour it no matter what the cost. In 1979, Nishimura left Japan and his wife and two sons. He said,” I did not stop to think about them once in the two decades that I devoted to digging up and repatriating the remains of almost 350 Japanese soldiers. "Why waste thoughts on something like that?" "I don't know if they're even alive any more. They didn't approve of what I was doing, and nor did the rest of Japan. But I gave a pledge. How could I sit here in Tokyo while my comrades were lying forgotten beneath the dirt, so far away from the families that grieved for them every day?"

The road to Kokoda is certainly a challenge, with 22 bridges was away and still in disrepair after Cyclone Guba decimated the area in November 2007.

The crossing of these sections of road is by wet crossings, where your truck carefully picks the best passage across the river. Normally in the dry season this normally does not pose much of a problem. We were travelling in the wet season, and with our late departure from Nisimura’s homecoming party the weather was looking ominous. Massive, black storm clouds were building in the distance, it was important that we crossed the Kumusi River before the storm broke in the mountains. Storm water falling into the mountains is funnelled down the ravines and valleys turning the Kumusi into a wild and frenzied river, making crossing it by vehicle impossible. For the next hour we wound our way up the road, ever worried about the impending storm. Fortunately we made the Kumusi River in good time and were able to traverse it with only minor difficulty. We were told later that the river had rose 3 feet not long after our crossing.

We arrived into the Village of Oivi mid afternoon to a noisy and excited welcome with the villagers chanting the welcome words of Oro, Oro, Oro. The community of Gorari and Oivi had come out in force to welcome us. Traditional Oro dancers and fierce warriors in head gear and Tapa cloth lap laps danced before us to the beat of the Kundu drum. The local elders and Local Government officials welcome us with their speeches and presented us all with exquisite leis made by the village ladies. The ladies had also prepared a sumptuous feast of fresh fruit and vegetables for our enjoyment.

The evening had us sitting around the open fire discussing the plans for our search. The local boys had constructed a special litter for Nishimura to sit on to assist with the ease of transportation down the track.
Our plan was for an early morning start in the area where the battle took place, which was situated in the old village of Oivi. We would then make our way slowly down the track giving Nishimura plenty of time to get his bearings.

The morning arose with a spectacular sunrise that all bode well for a dry and comfortable expedition. Before our departure the villagers brought out some old weapons that they had collected including both Australian and Japanese rifles, mortars, water cans and a Japanese bike.

Nishimura was shown the Japanese rifle and he picked it up and expertly animated its use, pointing the gun into the jungle at some long ago ghost. He told us the Australian rifles and guns were more powerful then the Japanese and how they had wished for better, more powerful weapons.

Nishimura spotted the old mortar and went on to demonstrate to us the art of firing it, how the mortar is primed, positioned and the trajectory and direction is set. Here was a man clearly remembering and reflexing the regimented training procedures drummed into him in training 70 years ago.

We presented him with the Australian rifle but he refused to touch it. Obviously still after all these years the Australian rifle is a strong reminder of the suffering and loss of life and mates that Nishimura witnessed during his time on the track.

We set off across the Oivi Battlefield and down the river that the Australians had withdrawn down during the battle. This was the river and ravine that Sanopa had so expertly guided the 39th to safety.

Nishimura had a keen eye and was noticeably excited as he made his way down the track.

He pointed out the Japanese camps and the thundering waterfall that dominated this part of the track.

A short way past the waterfall Nishimura became visibly excited and told us to stop. We sat him down and he closed his eyes, taking in the ambience of the place, he appeared to take himself back to another time, when he was a young man in the Japanese Imperial Army. After a few minutes he opened his eyes and pointed to an area, just 3 meters from where he sat. He surveyed the area and told us this was the spot. This was the spot that I buried Captain Sam Templeton. This definitive statement from Nishimura was the final piece in the puzzle to solve the mystery of what happened to Captain Sam Templeton. Nearly 70 years on, Nishimura’s was still sharp and definite in his conviction that this was the spot.

Nishimura showed us were he scrambled up the second waterfall, with his heavy 30kg pack weighing him down. He described the overwhelming stench coming from the clearing, and how much he just wanted to lie down and rest.

His allocated camp site and sleeping area was where the body lay, before he could rest, he needed to bury the body, to clear the air of the stench. With the assistance of two other soldiers Nishimura dug a grave around two feet deep next to the body. The body was very badly damaged and in no position to be moved. On completion of the dig, he removed the bayonet protruding from Templeton and moved his body into the grave. Nishimura had felt sorrow for the soldier and had taken great care in placing him in the grave.