Surviving the bombings on Maria Helpim

“I often regretted that He (Lord God) has given men such great intelligence; it is abused so much.”
Sr Siglinde Poboss SSpS, WW2 captive on Maria Helpim, Madang.

By KEVIN PAMBA
THIS is the third article of the series on Catholic missionaries held captive by the Japanese during World War II (WW2) in a site called “Maria Helpim” located on the hills inland from the historic St Michael’s Alexishafen mission station in Madang.
Today I share the story of the captive missionaries surviving the bombing raids and machine gun fire from the American warplanes along the north coast of Madang in August 1943 as recollected by Sr Siglinde Poboss SSpS in her memoir.
In all, the missionaries survived the bombing raids and machine gun fires of the Americans and counter machine gunfire by the Japanese who were guarding the captives at Maria Helpim.
The survival of the 90-odd missionaries, or the fact that none of the American fighter pilots dropped a single bomb or any of the machine gun fire obliterated the Maria Helpim camp and its residents is anything but a miracle. Throughout the captivity, only one missionary, Sister Hedwig died of illness on Maria Helpim and is buried there, as I shared last week.
Sr Siglinde Poboss recounted the anticipated bombing raid as a hellish experience for her and fellow captive missionaries on Maria Helpim.
Sr Siglinde wrote: “We heard that Alexishafen and the entire coast would be bombed by the middle of August.
“However, the Americans waited until the end of August.
Sr Siglinde recalled the magnitude of the deployment of American warplanes over Maria Helpim and onwards to Alexishafen coastline as a storm breaking loose “furiously”:
“At that time the storm broke loose more furiously than we had every before experienced; 20 to 30 warplanes flew over Maria Helpim to Alexishafen.
“The machine guns opened fire right over us; often the planes flew so low that they touched the treetops.
“The crackling and shooting was so astounding; the ground trembled and the houses shook.
“The brothers had made shelters in which we were safe from machine gun fire, but not from bombs.
“I went into a dugout shelter only once and it shook so much that I was afraid we would be buried alive.
“The planes appeared every two or three days, though sometimes we had peace for several days.”
Sr Siglinde soberly described how they would take cover in their dugouts or by running into the jungle and the river nearby when the next fleet or warplanes arrived.
“Once I was in the garden with Sr Bernereda and Sr Adulpha.
“On hearing the rumble of the approaching American warplanes (which she always called them death-singers) were ran to the river where a huge tree had fallen across the water.
“We ducked under the trunk; Sr Adulpha sat in the water and laid her head on my lap, trembling all over.
“I began to pray.
“At first Sr Bernereda answered with steady voice, but as the din grew louder we lost our voices from sheer palpitation of our hearts.
“Sr Milreda, who had been in the pigsty, fled to the woods and all the little pigs followed her, stood closely around her, and gazed at her very much frightened.
“The attack lasted about 40 minutes.

“At times the Japanese soldiers (on Maria Helpim) fired at the planes.
“It was a hellish noise; a thunderstorm such as even the good Lord does not produce.
“I often regretted that He (Lord God) has given men such great intelligence; it is abused so much.”
Sr Siglinde had the valid point that man, many a times, abuses his intelligence for self-indulgence and WW2 was a deadly and destructive demonstration of that shortcoming.
She also wrote about the human side of their Japanese captors – that after all the military ambitions concocted by their government – the individual soldiers were human beings after all.
“After each attack, our Japanese interpreter, Akasue, came to see if all of us were still alive,” recalled Sr Siglinde.
For the Japanese soldiers stationed at Maria Helpim, it was a juggle between shooting at the American warplanes overhead, avoiding bombs and machine gun fire from the planes and guarding the missionary captives.
The missionaries though had the most frightful time in their lives having to stare at the face of death each time the war planes flew above the tree tops and sprayed their guns. Some of the nuns and male missionaries felt ill from the immense fear of the fire-power of the warplanes and the responses from the Japanese machine guns.
“During a bombing raid (by the American war planes) running for shelter was almost useless since safety was nowhere to be found.
“It is too awful for words how much most of the sisters and missionaries suffered from fear,” recalled Sr Siglinde.
“The most dangerous time of day was between nine in the morning and noon.
“All who went to Danip plantation for provisions would start out in the dark so they would be back in the bush before nine o’clock.
“So we had Holy Mass at four (am), then a little breakfast, and in all haste our brothers and sisters departed (for Danip plantation).
“Once I also went along.
“Br Jacobus carried a small lantern; we followed the dim light, stumbled, fell, and rose again to hurry past guard post, down the mountain, through two rivers, reaching the plantation at dawn.
“Arriving at the supply shed, each one grabbed whatever stood nearest; pails, brooms, cooking pots, church goods, soap, garden tools; and back we went in all haste, if possible, then we had come till we were beyond the plantation.
“We felt safe.
“In spite of the dangers we kept up our courage”.
Throughout the interlude of the bombing raids and machine gun fires, the missionaries kept their vigil in prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary for her intercession, and sought the protection of the Lord. At nights, they had Mass, sang hymns to the Blessed Virgin Mary because that was the safest time to do so when the warplanes could not fly over.
Sr Siglinde recalled Sr Dionora who led them with her favourite hymn, which they sang every evening and consoled their battered hearts and minds while staring at death: “Mother (Mary) do not forsake me till in death, my sight departs ….”
As fate would have it, the Regional Superior of the SSpS (or Holy Spirit Sisters) said sometime startling that Sr Siglinde recalled:
“Our Regional Superior sometimes said ‘After conditions are normal again, we shall make an annual pilgrimage to Maria Helpim from St Michael’s (Alexishafen Mission station)’.”
The captive Holy Spirit Sisters and their brothers from the Society of Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) survived the US bombing raids but did not remain in Madang to see the end of the war. The Japanese took them as prisoners of war to Hollandia (now Jayapura) via Bogia, Manam and Wewak and many died when the Americans bombed the ship, Yorishime Maru, they were travelling on near Wewak. I will share Sr Siglinde’s account of the bombing of Yorishime Maru, which she was on board, in a fortnight’s time.
Catholics in the Archdiocese of Madang today make the annual pilgrimage to Maria Helpim on Sept 14 as the Regional Superior of the Holy Spirit Sister envisioned while going through the pain of WW3 in 1943.
Next week: The destruction of “the magnificent Cathedral at Alexishafen” on Sept 1, 1943.

• Dr Kevin Pamba PhD, is based in Divine Word University, Madang.