Imagine what it would be like to be invaded by a foreign army–your home destroyed by artillery fire; bombs blowing up your community; your family threatened by gunfire.
What the Ukrainians are going through is shocking to contemplate today. But invasions and their human costs–all the rapes, killings, lootings, and burnings–are a staple of history.
During World War II, Australians fully expected to be invaded by Japan.
As our hosts, Noel and Meg, were driving us through the vibrant and bustling city of Brisbane–Australia’s third largest city, already making preparations for hosting the Olympics in 2032–they told us what things were like in 1942.
Japan had invaded nation after nation–China, Thailand, Malaya, the Philippines, and more–and no one seemed able to stop them.
Australians believed their time was coming. The Japanese had considered an invasion of Australia, but considered it impractical, but the Australians didn’t know that. They were well aware of how the Japanese brutalized the people they conquered, as in the notorious Rape of Nanking.
Compounding the fears was that much of the Australian military had been pulled to help Great Britain fight the Germans in North Africa, the Middle East, and other outposts of the British Empire. Australians felt defenseless. But the population rallied to defend their country. Requirements for military service were loosened and thousands enlisted in official or auxiliary units. Meanwhile, as Singapore and Hong Kong fell, it became clear that little help would be coming from the British.
Then, in their time of need, the Americans showed up! American soldiers poured into Brisbane, which became the headquarters of Gen. Douglas MacArthur (after he had been driven out of the Philippines) and the South Pacific Command.
The Japanese did attack Australia. They bombed Australia and its holdings some 111 times, particularly the city of Darwin in which 235 residents were killed. The empire’s plan was not to invade but to isolate the continent by seizing the islands just to the north, including New Guinea, and turning them into air and naval bases for the Pacific war. Towards that end, the Japanese navy launched a fleet with three aircraft carriers, 9 cruisers, 15 destroyers, 12 troop transports, plus supporting vessels.
The American navy, with two carriers, 8 cruisers, and 14 destroyers, including a cruiser and destroyer from the Australian navy, intercepted the Japanese in the Coral Sea on May 4, some 500 miles from the Australian mainland. The Battle of the Coral Sea was the first naval engagement in which the ships that were fighting were out of sight of each other. The battle was fought by means of carrier aircraft.
In the four days of fighting, an aircraft carrier was sunk on both sides and their other carrier was damaged. The Americans also lost a destroyer and an oiler. The Japanese also lost a destroyer and three minesweepers. Other ships were damaged on both sides. Americans lost 69 aircraft, and the Japanese lost from 69 to 97. So the battle was essentially a draw. But the crippled Japanese fleet withdrew from Australian waters, never to return.
Australians consider the Battle of the Coral Sea “the battle that saved Australia.” As we drove along the Brisbane River, Noel pointed out a memorial to the battle. Every year, he said, Australians meet there for a ceremony honoring the 656 Americans who died defending their country.
During our first trip to Australia a few years ago, a man told me about the Battle of the Coral Sea and why his country is still grateful to Americans. “We’ve been with you in all your wars ever since,” he said, “even when they aren’t such good ideas.”
Hearing about the Battle of Coral Sea–something I never learned about in school–made me proud of my country. Americans have an idealism and in impulse to help that sometimes gets us into trouble. I’m not saying we should move in to help the Ukrainians as we did the Australians. We were allies during the war back then, fighting a common enemy. We are not at war with Russia and should avoid being so. But our national character puts us on Ukraine’s side.
That night in Brisbane, I learned about the devastating floods that had struck the city and countryside a few weeks earlier. We were told that an American ship had docked soon afterwards. The sailors had a variety of options for shore leave. But virtually all of them volunteered to help with the cleanup. Again, that made me proud to be an American.
Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) under air attack on 8 May 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea, as photographed from a Japanese plane. By Unknown author – U.S. Navy photo NH 95579, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5130800
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