Letters from Leonard Stanley Marquis to his mother, Amy Edith Marquis, 1945 - Part 3

4/ newspapers you sent me that John Martins
were having a Spring Sale. Sounds like old
times again, doesn't it?
I don't know where you have managed to

put all the furniture you've got this year.
You are quite right not to attempt to lift
anything around. Let everything be until
one of us gets back. I was saying to
Don in my last letter which I wrote just before
I f left Lae, that in view of the certain
housing shortage for a year or so after the
war, we might have to stay at "Sunset". In
such case, I suggested to him that we buy
a hut from Army Salvage. They are about
15' x 10' & are assembled by bolting. It would
do for me as a sleep out / Don could be
erected in the north/west corner of the yard.
That would relieve the accommodation

problem a bit. We must get on to the shack
as soon as possible after I'm out. If Don
gets out before I do, he can scout around
for something suitable. We should not
have any trouble in furnishing it. I think
that you must have everything needed at
home now in the way of furniture. Crockery
& cutlery will be required of course,
but that can wait.
Thank you for engineering about "Famous

Plays". I thought stocks might be out, but
buy by next year they should be available
once more. In the meantime, could you
enquire about one play called "Life with
Father", please dear? I saw it done at RAAF
Command this year. It is a real
scream. As good as "Black Sheep" which the
Playbox gave. Do you remember that? How

11/. American buildings. Last night
we went ashore & saw a picture
show.  Film was an old one called

"Sally, Irene & Mary" & not very

good. However it was a break
from the ship & a lovely night
with twinkling stars & a whisp

of white cloud here & there. On
returning to the ship & after a
light supper, I went up on deck for
a breather before retiring. The moon
had now risen low in the east
& cast a silver path across the lagoon

in which we were ^are anchored.
I sat back in a deck chair & enjoyed
the cool of the night. I fell asleep
& must have slept for an hour or
more, because the moon was up
much further when I awoke & went
below.
This morning we went ashore to
look around - The glare of the coral
ground was terrific & I was glad
I'd brought my sun glasses with
me. Normally I don't find it necessary
to wear them.
At Sea - Friday- 5^th Oct 45
As you can see, some time has elapsed
since I began this letter, but since
we are still at sea it doesn't matter

5/ you laughed!
I come to the second letter which was written
Wednesday, 5^th Sept. In it you were not clear

about the role of the two merchant ships "River

Glenelg" & "River Burdekin". They were there

to bring back the Japs, of which there were

3,000 approximately. Yes the "River Glenelg"

was built at Whyalla by B.H.P whilst the

"River Burdekin was built at Brisbane. Since

the ship I'm travelling in was built at 

Maryborough, Q'ld, the whole show was a completely

Australian job. On this present only the

"River Burdekin" is accompanying us since

there are only 500 Japs on it Ocean 9s.
It was disappointing about Don's application

being rejected again, wasn't it? I suppose now

he'll have to wait for demob. by points. How

many has he I wonder? They are calculated

by twice the number of years at enlistment

plus two points for every month of

service. (Three points per month if there is a 

dependant.) He was about 21 when called up, wasn't

he? That would give him 42 points & then

4 years of service would make 96 giving a 

total of 138 points. I don't know how many

one has to have to be in the first lot of

discharges, but it should not be too long before

he is eligible. As for myself I think I can

claim 3 points since you are getting an 

allotment. That makes me as follows: - 24 yrs at

enlistment = 48 points plus 5¹/₂ yrs (66 months)

at 3 points per month = 198 points giving a total

of 246 points. I ought to be high up on the

list, but due to being classed as a "key" 

personnel, they'll be holding me. However, I'm 

10/. What is the colour of the Venetian flower
stand? Can you give I me an idea
of its shape by a sketch?
I guess after Audrey is married, that
Graham will be making a "Den" for
himself at home. What does Mrs. White
think of all the new additions?
Thursday Sept 27^th 45.
at TARAWA
in the Gilbert Is.
Well, Mother dear, here I am at TARAWA
N.E of Nauru. Arrived here yesterday
afternoon about 2 o'clock after a
pleasant voyage. We called in at
Nauru on the way for ¹/₂ an hour to
pick up a Col Kelly & then continued
on to here. This place is all that
one pictures of a coral atoll. Blue
Pacific water, a white line of waves
breaking on the reef & then emerald
green waters for about a mile
to a glistening white shore with
coconut palms. To be sure the main
island whereat we landed is almost
now bereft of palms due to the
bombardment which preceeded the
American landing. Also in building 

an airfield many palms had
to be destroyed. The island is flat like
a billiard table about 8' about
high water & is wholly occupied by 

6/. writing to the office today to ask them to put
in for me.

It would seem that Betty D. has "had" the Land

Army. Get Mrs D. to congratulate Stan for me,
please dear. He is a clever kid to have made
F/Sgt rank at his age.
I forgot to mention about the registered parcel with
the dark glasses - did it come "Air Mail". Thought
you'd like them. They'll not be the bother like
an ordinary pair of sun-glasses. There is yet
another parcel to come - a mosquito net with
a crazy note. Don't pay any attention to it,
just open the parcel & air the net. By the bye,

have any bundles of papers arrived yet? They
are coming by sea, so will take awhile.
I've noticed in the papers that ships' arrivals
& departures are listed once more & also that
no permits are needed for the Port's wharves.
The next letter was written on Saturday 8^th Sept.

& you had just learned about my mission. No,

I was not the interpreter at the Bougainville

surrender. I only stayed at our language 

detachment there for the week whilst

waiting to set out for Nauru Is. The only

broadcasting I did was back at Lae when

we were trying to raise Rabaul on the

air, to give instructions about surrendering.

You spoke of Mrs. Thompson in this letter & said you

went to the Ozone with her. Is she living down

Semaphore way now since you said you met

her by chance at the corner of Hart St & the 

Esplanade? How is she these days? Give her my

kindest regards please, when next you see

her. Have you seen Dorothy S. of late? I guess

she'll blow in some time or other shortly?

She owes me a letter, I believe. Do you know 

9/ a native that he was a cruel man
& not liked. The new (& present) CO was
okay & not too liked to a certain extent
& seeing him, I believe it. It was the
impression gathered by the other 

Australian officers also. There was another
officer there whom I took an instant
dislike to. He was a swaggering type &
later I discovered, he was present at
the execution although he was re
seem to wield a sword, by our single
native eyewitness, who only saw the
first blow. We are gradually checking 

up on other officers who were
on the island at the time & will later
build up a case against the guilty
ones.
As against the stories of atrocities, I
quote a story which shows that there
are a few good Japs. A native pastor
on Nauru protested one time at the
burning & destroying of Bibles by the
Japs. He was arrested as being pro-British

& was going to be executed. However,
a Jap doctor got up & defended him,
saying he had done no wrong against
Japan, but was only protesting against
attacks on his faith. An argument
ensued among the officers & the doctor
said that if they were going to kill
him ^the pastor they could also kill him as he
believed in what the pastor so had done
& said. As a result, the pastor was 
released & no further action taken. 

7/. the Rector's address now, dear? May be Dorothy
will know it. If not, the new Rector of St.
Aidan's will know if you rang him. The Rectory
was phone number was listed under the
Rector's name, so if you have an old telephone
directory you'll soon find it. I'd like to drop
him a line & tell him about my doings.
And now I come to the short letter you dashed
off to congratulate me on my commission. I had

to smile at it, as you sounded so full of excitement.
Guess you were more excited than I
was. And then in the letter of Wednesday the 12^th, you
told of how you let off steam on the piano on
the Sunday afternoon. Must have been funny.
I'm glad David is not volunteering for Tokyo.
It's not worth it. That certainly was a nasty
experience of Don's concerning the snake &

am glad they killed it. Did the mate even 

appear? Have you seen Vic Berry since his

return from England? Remember me to him

when you do. I bet Mrs. Bergin is overjoyed

to know Jack is alive & on his way home.

There are many happy hearts as well as sad

ones these days. I've seen several names in

the lists of lads I know. One from our office 

has been recovered from Singapore. I wonder

if he can speak any Japanese?

And now I come to the sixth & last letter, dated
Saturday, the 15^th & in it you were once again
up in the clouds over my letter telling you
of the def trip & in what style I was to make it.

It was a nice long letter & you sound so happy
in all them these days. You have done
a good job in writing so regularly & it
will be great when there is no more to 

8/. need to do it! The boys & girls up in

Lae marvel when I tell them how 

many you do a week. One of my pals

who has just gone on to Morotai, says he

can just picture you & wants to meet

you later on. At different times I've told

him about the goings on at home & he

thinks it all must be so wonderful.

Some terrible things have been done at Wewak

area by the Japs, but at Nauru Is, they 

were fairly alright. The newspaper article

telling of cannibalism was incorrect. It

must a misunderstanding on the part of

the Chinese whom they questioned. He

later said that it was suicides by the

Japs several Japs about six months ago

when rain was scarce & food hard to

grow. We The newspaper reporter got it

from the Chinese & dashed off an article.

However before it was sent from the ship,

we told him of the error, but he did not

trouble to recover the signal & alter it.

It just shows one how things are distorted

at times. Furthermore, the physical 

condition of the Japs was excellent & had

been so for the past six months since

rains had been regular. Food was plentiful,

although monotonous. I think I

mentioned what they ate in my last

letter. To be sure, they executed by 

beheading the five Europeans who remained

on the island. There were only 300

Japs on the island then & the CO at the

time who was responsible for the order

returned to Japan. I heard earlier from

At Sea
on board

HMAS "DIAMANTINA"

Friday - 5^th Oct. 45.
 My dear Mother,

This is really part 2, so if

you've opened this one first, don't read it
until you've opened & read the other one,

which deals with the TARAWA trip. This

one is all about OCEAN Is.

I was sleeping on deck (on a stretcher) &

awoke about 6 o'clock on the Sunday

morning. Looking ahead, I could see the

island about 12 miles off, so got up, had

a shave & shower, & to breakfast, then bustled

about making myself tidy to receive

the envoy. We were close off shore at 7

o'clock & a Jap barge came out with 2

Jap officers dressed in spotless white 

uniforms. They were interrogated in the

ship's sick bay & told what was required

of them & so then returned to the island.

We cruised off They had been expecting us

& had withdrawn from the boat 

harbour area & stacked all their ammunition

& equipment in one central

store house nearby. They therefore had very

little to do to comply with our instructions.

The signing ceremony was arranged

for 9 o'clock on the Monday as the "River

Burdekin" was late & could not arrive

before Monday morning. She was bringing

the garrison troops & stores which

were to be landed as soon as the signing

was over. However, at 9 o'clock, an

armed reconnaissance party went ashore

8/. it has bent when I put it in pocket.
The heat of the body & climate are
too much for its weakened state. I
only paid a dollar (6/-) for this one
& am quite satisfied with it.
And now, Mrs my dear Mrs. Marqueeze,

I'm on my last page & as I have nothing

more ^of the trip to write about at the

moment, I'll give myself over to some

other topics. There'll be another batch

of mail awaiting me tomorrow no

doubt at TOROKYNA & I'm looking forward

to reading it. One of the interpreters 

who came on the "Burdekin” brought

me two letters which had arrived

after I'd x left. One was from Don &

he had quite a bit to talk about. He

sounds disappointed over his application.

In view of that & another reason, I'm

putting in for my discharge, as soon

as I get back to Lae. If I don't make a 

move they'll be keeping me in

indefinitely mucking about the various

P.W camps. Others have been training down

south for the past year & should be ready

now to do that work. Now don't you

go & get all excited & think I'll be home

within a week. It may take two months

or more. I have 238 points & that will

stand me in good stead plus the

compassionate grounds which I'm going to use.

And now dear, the paper is almost finished

so will wind up. Hope you're both 

well & that the days are warmer.

Remember me to Pop & best of love to you

dear self.  Len