Casket of Alan Hooper

“Moving silently in the jungle, inflicting casualties on us – and then gone, like green shadows.” (from the diary of a Japanese Officer.)

The Australian Army established the Papuan Infantry Battalion in 1940 to defend PNG once World War 2 had begun. The Japanese Army invaders called the PIB soldiers Ryokin (green shadows) and Yabanjin Tai (savage unit) and Yabanjin Hei (savage soldiers). Alan Hooper became a field officer and a leader of these Savage Soldiers.

The early PIB recruits were trained Policemen experienced with discipline and handling weapons; and some were already leaders like the famous Sgt. Katue MM. Others, like Ben Moide, who died recently, came straight from villages with varying amounts of schooling behind them. (Ben was a quick learner from a good Mission school.) These young and older soldiers were trained by Officers such as Alan and Sergeants such as Frank Wust (present here today) to use their local knowledge and experience in tribal warfare against a foreign enemy invading their villages. The recruits came from many Districts and clans across Papua to live at Murray Barracks and later at Bisiatabu.

The Papuan Infantry Battalion soldiers were trained to operate as:
* reconnaissance units;
* fighting units; and
* guerilla units.

In these roles, the PIB provided outstanding service, particularly in operations behind enemy lines. There they were proficient in infiltrating Japanese camps to gather intelligence; in rescuing downed airmen and soldiers cut off behind enemy lines; and in harassing the enemy and disrupting his lines of communication.

There were other roles they were ordered to play by Australian and American commanders – some roles were appropriate and some not. Brigadier Potts diverted some PIB soldiers for six weeks to carry the wounded back along the Kokoda Track. In this they again excelled by providing the ‘backbone’ for Bert Kienzle’s carrier teams. Alan was exemplary in using his soldiers for appropriate tasks. Naturally, as experienced tribal warriors before entering the Battalion, PIB soldiers were successful in combat and some, but not nearly enough – not even Ben Moide – were awarded Medals for bravery. (In Alan’s opinion, racism was at play during the War and, Alan believed, it remained within some Battalion Associations.)

Alan had volunteered to serve overseas in June 1940 and joined a ‘mob of chocos’ or Militia at Enoggera Barracks as Recruit Q52 in 49th Battalion. He sailed with the Battalion on the Orungal on 1st July 1940 for the one-week voyage to Port Moresby. There, Alan supervised working parties building communication networks and roads. In mid-March 1941, Alan and seven others transferred as NCOs to the PIB and Alan was commissioned as a Lieutenant in early August 1941. Alan resisted offers to join the AIF and move further away from Australia because his instincts told him to stay in PNG. After Pearl Harbour, his instincts were proved correct. From Murray Barracks, Alan accompanied work gangs to their wharf duties and to the 9-Mile Quarry to crush rock needed to reinforce the 7-Mile Aerodrome (which was later called Jackson Airport). About this time, Alan’s fiancée Nancy in Brisbane joined the WAAFS.

In June 1942, Alan was tasked to lead ‘B’ Coy of the PIB to Kokoda and beyond; then patrol across the Northern District in case of enemy invasion. The remainder of the PIB followed ‘B’Coy ten days later, guiding the 39th Battalion to Kokoda. PIB platoons fanned out from their Kokoda HQ across the District with instructions from their CO, Major Watson, to “seek out and destroy” any Japanese invaders. On a date that Alan never forgot, and taught others, a fellow Qld Officer, Lt. John Chalk, and his PIB patrol set up the first-organised resistance to the Japanese Army on the PNG mainland. This historic date, 23 July 1942, marked the baptism of fire for the PIB. It was an ambush of enormous significance to Alan and all members of the PIB, NGIB and PIR ever since. The details of this event were imprinted in Alan’s memory and publicly verified in the Official History of World War 2. The 23rd July was later chosen by the Prime Minister of PNG to be the PNG National Remembrance Day.

The PIB performed with high praise until the end of the Kokoda and Northern Beaches Campaign in February 1943. In March, after continuous war service, Alan was evacuated by plane to hospital in Port Moresby with multiple tropical illnesses. Later, he traveled by plane and train to Brisbane where he married Nancy and took leave until mid-June.

When Alan returned to PNG from his overdue leave, he started his posting with ANGAU. His qualities as a leader, his knowledge of the local languages and cultures, and his negotiating skills were probably the keys to his success in ANGAU. Alan was first attached to the United States 41st Division at Nassau Bay near Salamaua. He was the commander of all Papuan labour supporting the American campaigns. Next, Alan was posted to Finschhafen. Here he supervised New Guinea carriers supporting Australian forces pursuing the Japanese Army retreating westward along the New Guinea coast.

After several months leave with his wife Nancy in Australia, Alan was posted to a large American base at Oro Bay where his labour line built storage sheds and transported supplies from the wharf. Alan achieved great respect here, and some respite, from late 1944 until the end of the War.

Alan had a lasting impact on our Association and members like me. He was seen as professional and accurate in his war-time writings and publications. He was professional in his dealings with other Servicemen and forever patient with our lack of knowledge about key events in World War 2. Alan was a role model for others in showing how to constructively handle the psychological impact of war service. He was a father-figure for the next generation of servicemen interested in PNG, particularly the Kokoda history. He had marched every ANZAC Day he could from the age of 13; and conscientiously attended each World War 2 Commemoration Service in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and PNG. Alan knew instinctively, during the War and afterwards, what needed to be done.
He had a big perspective, a big vision and a big smile.
Alan was accorded respect during the War by his soldiers and his commanders; and has been paid genuine respect by servicemen ever since.

Ba mahuta (sleep well) Alan.

Greg Ivey
for PIB NGIB HQ PIR Association