Caroline Kennedy, the American ambassador to Australia, recently had a heartwarming encounter with the kids of two Solomon Islanders who had helped rescue the lives of her father, John F. Kennedy, and other Americans during World War II.
Last week, Ms. Kennedy visited Honiara, the capital of the islands, as part of an American diplomatic mission to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal.
John F. Kennedy was among the hundreds of U.S. Navy commanders who fought in the South Pacific’s bloody battles against American and Japanese troops in 1942 and 1943, which represented a pivotal moment in the war.
A Japanese destroyer rammed a small patrol torpedo boat (PT-109) under Kennedy’s command in August 1943, leaving the whole crew shipwrecked.
Kennedy was saved from almost certain death when, after a week of escaping arrest, the party were discovered by Solomon Islanders Eroni Kumana and Biuku Gasa. Kennedy managed to bring his remaining crewmates ashore on a neighbouring Japanese-controlled island despite suffering terrible injuries.
Members of the Coastwatchers, an organisation of allied military intelligence, Kumana and Gasa, took control of a coconut on which Kennedy had etched a brief message outlining their situation. Kumana and Gasa dutifully delivered the message to allied command, which resulted in the miraculous rescue of all PT-109 crew members still alive.
At a ceremony held yesterday, more than 79 years after the day her father was rescued, Caroline got to know John Koloni, the son of Kumana, and Nelma Ane, the daughter of Gasa.
After giving them a loving hug, the late president’s daughter gave each of them a facsimile of the coconut shell that Kennedy had cleverly used to illustrate the predicament of his crew.
According to New Zealand’s 1News, Kennedy allegedly told Koloni and Ane she was “very glad” to have met them at the touching ceremony and that she hoped to “maintain the bond” by bringing her own children to the island.
During the memorial events, she said, “Countless Americans and allied families have Solomon Islanders to thank for their survival.”
In response, Koloni said, “I’m honoured and proud of my dad, and I’m pleased to accept on his behalf. Stuff quotes him as saying, “I wish he was here to accept this award.”
But in the years after the war, many people forgot about the valiant deeds of Kumana and Gasa, which were crucial in rescuing Kennedy and 10 other American naval officers.
The two were barred from Kennedy’s inauguration and did not get any recognition for their assistance in defending his crew and saving Kennedy’s life from Japanese soldiers.
Kennedy asked his saviours to attend the inauguration of the 35th president of the United States in January 1961, but the Solomon Islands, which were still a British Protectorate at the time, forbade them from going and sent two white delegates in their place.
Manasseh Sogavare, the prime minister of the Solomon Islands, skipped the commemoration of the Battle of Guadalcanal, much to the dismay of Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state of the United States, who attended the event with Kennedy.
According to The Solomon Star News, Sogavare was scheduled to speak at the memorial ceremony on Sunday, which was also attended by ministers and representatives from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. However, he did not show up.
Sogavare was included on the printed programme for the event, according to Sherman, who expressed her regret to him when she subsequently met him.
According to a transcript that was made public on Monday, she told reporters, “The real tragedy here is that I believe he lost a tremendous chance to remember how strong these relationships were 80 years ago that allowed for independence here in Solomon Islands.”
A recent increase of tensions after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s travel to Taiwan prompted Sherman to express U.S. worries about his government’s security agreement with China at a wide-ranging and “quite bold” discussion with Sogavare later on Sunday.
Beijing and Honiara have disputed that the agreement would permit a military facility.
The United States and other Pacific countries will “all watch very closely to see what happens here,” Sherman said in a television interview on Monday, adding that Sogavare had reiterated his promises that there would be no Chinese base.
She said to ABC’s 7:30 Report show that the Pacific Island Forum, made up of other nations, cares deeply about preventing the establishment of a Chinese military post since doing so may pose a danger to all of the Pacific islands.
She went on to say that Sogavare “will have to account to his own compatriots about why he took the decision that he did” to miss the Guadalcanal ceremony.
Kennedy and Sherman both praised the Solomon Islanders’ cooperation with the United States during World War Two.
According to a statement from Sogavare’s office, Solomon Islands ministers attended the World War Two celebrations on behalf of the government.