...of 2/16th Infantry Battalion, was subject to a bombardment of Japanese artillery on Ioribaiwa Ridge.
[A veteran faces the camera.]
ERIC WILLIAMS: And Bill Grayden and myself, I was the sergeant, he was the officer behind them. And unfortunately, these blokes had their head against this tree and I suppose the Japs must have seen us from over there. The next thing we knew was this mountain gun was fired and exploded in the tree just above our head. And it killed the three blokes with their head on the tree because the percussion goes straight...split their skulls open. And knocked out Bill Grayden, who was right alongside me. I was alright. I thought, "Christ!"
I could see they were dead. And I thought Bill was dead. I made a bit of a boo-boo - I should have made sure he was dead. So I grabbed all the grenades, 'cause I reckoned it was no good giving them to the Japs. So I just chucked them down the side, including Bill's. Took the bolts out of their rifles so the Japs couldn't use them, tossed those off and pissed off.
And when I got back to battalion, which wasn't far - here to the gate and back or something - no sign of the Japs. I didn't wait. I'm not a hero. Went back and reported that these three blokes were killed and Bill Grayden. And I suppose about a quarter of an hour later, who should come lurching up the track? It was Bill Grayden. Silly as a weirdo, he'd been only knocked out. Of course, I felt dreadful, you know. I'd left him. I thought he was dead, same as the other blokes.
