Customer Reviews

Lonely Vigil: Coastwatchers of the Solomons (Bluejacket Books)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Notwithstanding the impression you might get from some of the other reviewers here, "Lonely Vigil" is not a book about John F. Kennedy. Far from the coastwatchers being a footnote in JFK's biography, I prefer to think of JFK -- at least during these years -- as a minor bit of trivia in the far more interesting story of the coastwatchers themselves. Fishing JFK out of the drink was far from their most important contribution, either to the war effort or to history.

I first read this book when I was in my teens, and I was captured even then by the drama of the coastwatchers and their Melanesian allies, hiding in the jungles while reporting on Japanese convoy and aircraft movements through the evocatively named "Slot" through the Solomon Islands. If you're familiar with Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific," you already know a little about the coastwatchers, since the mission embarked on by Lt. Joe Cable and planter Emile de Becque was modeled on the true-life exploits described in this book.

It's too bad that the exciting story of the coastwatchers is still all but unknown in the U.S. But if it's true, as Admiral Halsey said (and who are we to doubt Admiral Halsey?), that "the coastwatchers saved Guadalcanal, and Guadalcanal saved the Pacific," then this well-researched, well-written, and engrossing book by Walter Lord deserves to be read by all students of the war in the Pacific.

I am partial to this book becuase Walter Lord interviewed my Father during the writing of this book. My Father Benjamin F. Nash was the only full time American Coastwatcher during WWII and was with Reg Evans when they spotted the fire ball that turned out to be the wreck of PT 109 when the Jananese destroyer ran over it. I met Mr. Lord during the days he talked to my Father during the Summer of 1976. I think it was '76. I have read the book several times. It is a fascinating history filled with facts, so you have to take your time in reading it to get the full impact. My Father told me that the facts that he knew of where 100% accurate in the book. Great book.

This book documents the history of the Coastwatchers, a little-known intelligence corps operating in the South Pacific during World War II. As war loomed on the horizon early in the 1940s, it became apparent to Australian Naval Intelligence that it would be useful to post observers on key strategic islands off the coast of Australia and New Guinea who could report movements of enemy ships and other military activities. The Coastwatchers, as this team came to be called, were commanded by an Australian officer named Eric Feldt. The men who filled these positions were of varied backgrounds, from military officers to missionaries and British colonial officials, and even an American who managed to get transferred from his regular unit. On each of the key islands in the Solomons, the Coastwatchers established lookout points high in the mountain jungles, from where they could radio in to headquarters their counts of ships and incoming planes. By Lord's account, these reports were vital in the air battles in the Solomons, since they gave warnings to the Allies of incipient attacks, enabling them to prepare and stage effective counter-maneuvers. The Coastwatchers also assisted in the evacuation of Western refugees, both colonists and missionaries. One of their other important tasks was to locate Allied personnel whose planes or ships had been downed and help them make their way back to friendly territory. Indeed, it was a Coastwatcher who found the men of PT 109 and assisted Kennedy and his men in their odyssey back to their units. The book is illustrated with several sections of black-and-white vintage photographs. At the end of the book are a list of contributors and interviewees and an index.

Lord collected this material some 20 years after the war by traveling through the islands and conducting extensive interviews with the Coastwatchers, Solomon Island residents, veterans, and missionaries who had worked with or been rescued by the Coastwatchers. Instead of presenting the material in one long continuous saga, Lord's approach is to describe the events island by island and station by station. For the sake of completeness, he tries to weave in the names of every person who played a role in each incident. As a result, there is not a lot of cohesion to tie the story together. As a reader, I frequently found myself taking note of a person's name and story since Lord made it seem important for the big picture, only to find that the person was never mentioned again. The book is very much the story of individual people, whose contributions to the war effort might have gone untold if it weren't for the painstaking research that Lord undertook. While I am in no position to judge the accuracy of Lord's account, I note that in my copy of the book, which came from the collection of a public library, there are several marginal notes correcting names and ranks, and units of people mentioned in the text.

A few hundred coastwatchers of the Solomon Islands, mostly Australians, played a crucial role in winning World War II in the Pacific. These men -- including one family and one woman missionary -- were mostly planters, officials, and missionaries who had been living in the Solomon islands before World War II and who remained in place in 1942 and 1943, often behind Japanese lines. They set up their cumbersome radios on mountain tops and reported the movements of Japanese aircraft and ships to the embattled Americans on Guadalcanal.

In the early days of the Guadalcanal campaign it was the laconic radio reports -- "forty bombers heading yours" is an example -- of the coastwatchers who gave the American marines almost two hours notice of Japanese bombers heading their way. This enabled the ragtag "Cactus Air Force" to get into the air and swoop down on the Japanese planes when they arrived. Without the coastwatchers the vital battle for Guadalcanal might have been lost. Later the coastwatchers also became rescuers of downed US pilots and sailers, notably of a young naval lieutenant named John F. Kennedy whose PT Boat was sunk. Perhaps the most remarkable story in the book is that of Jacob Vouza, an island native who was shot, bayoneted, and left for dead by the Japanese but survived to report the advance of a Japanese batallion readying an attack on the Americans.

Author Walter Lord tells in "Lonely Vigil" what had been the untold story of the coastwatchers. Much of the book is compiled from interviews with about 100 participants. It's a fascinating and exotic tale of unconventional warriors, heroes, and colorful characters that should be on the reading list of essential World War II books.

Smallchief

If you like real-life action, intrigue, and hard-to-put-down reading about WWII, this book is for you. This is Walter Lord's great-moving account of WWII in the Solomon Islands, and the less-known, but critical role that the coast watchers played in the eventual come-back of the United States and it's allies in the Southwest Pacific in their drive to Japan.

Walter Lord's book, "Lonely Vigil: Coast Watchers of the Solomons," written in 1977, was written as a tribute to those brave Australians who stayed behind in the Solomon Islands to report on the activities of the Japanese at great personal risk to themselves. They helped the United States during the Battle of Guadalcanal. One of them even saved the life of JFK. During World War II, the Pacific was a Japanese lake. They controlled every country in Asia and Southeast Asia. The Coast Watchers were a vital link in Australia's defensive chain. They even aided VMF-214, the legendary Black Sheep Squadron, commanded by the late Major Gregory R. ("Pappy") Boyington. If it weren't for the Coast Watchers, then we probably would have lost World War II.

Walter Lord has written some of the best narrative histories - "A Night to Remember", "Day of Infamy" and "Incredible Victory", to name just three. In my opinion, this book is in the class of those three, but since it covers a less dramatic aspect of WWII it has received much less attention. The lonely vigil was that of the Coastwatchers of the Solomon Islands who reported on Japanese shipping and flights to Guadalcanal. This was critical work and in the words of Admiral Halsey, "The Coastwatchers saved Guadalcanal and Guadalcanal saved the Pacific" - a remarkable contribution of a few brave men who worked in relative isolation, knowing that capture meant torture and death.

Actually, the book is about much more than a lonely vigil. It not only tells the stories of the "official" Coastwatchers who were assigned to this work, but also of the planters, missionaries, island natives and rescued pilots and sailors, all of whom were caught up in the Japanese advance through the Solomon Islands. It shows how many conducted their own wars against the Japanese, not only by reporting on Japanese movements, but sometimes actively fighting them on islands such as Guadalcanal, Bougainvulle, New Georgia, Valla Lavella and a host of much smaller islands. The book tells how the Coastwatchers were organized and selected, and how many American flyers and sailors (including JFK) were rescued and shuttled through Japanese held territory to the American lines.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a well-written book - one that makes you feel that you are in the midst of the action. It is a great book for those who like history, especially the history of WWII.

I like how Walter Lord took his time for each Coastwatcher and told their stories. This book gave me a great sense of how interconnected the entire operation was for WWII, how every person had to do their job in order for the entire mission to be successful. But even more than that, I loved the individual stories, the details of what they encountered and how they adapted to each situation. From the rugged jungle, to the hot wet weather, to the natives switching allegiance between Japanese and Allied Forces, to the betrayer who gave away information, this book gives a complete sense (including many photographs of the people involved) of what it was like to operate behind enemy lines to get information that saved countless lives. God Bless them all.

Lonely Vigil is an absolute page turner from beginning to end. Walter Lord did a fine job putting together the story of the many coastwatchers in the Solomon Islands. There are many first person accounts of incidences on all the major islands. I especially liked the chapter on Donald Kennedy and his native guerilla army and their incredible exploits against the Japanese. Why a movie hasn't been made about this guy I don't know. The book covers a number of different coastwatchers and holds the readers attention very well. The photos and maps are a big plus as well. It's to bad that most people in the US don't know more about these brave and resourceful men. During this period of WW2 the issue was still in doubt and the coastwatchers played a tremendous role in turning this around. It would have been a priviledge to serve with and know these men and the brave Solomon Islanders who risked everything by standing by them. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book

A few hundred coastwatchers of the Solomon Islands, mostly Australians, played a crucial role in winning World War II in the Pacific. These men -- including one family and one woman missionary -- were mostly planters, officials, and missionaries who had been living in the Solomon islands before World War II and who remained in place in 1942 and 1943, often behind Japanese lines. They set up their cumbersome radios on mountain tops and reported the movements of Japanese aircraft and ships to the embattled Americans on Guadalcanal.

In the early days of the Guadalcanal campaign it was the laconic radio reports -- "forty bombers heading yours" is an example -- of the coastwatchers who gave the American marines almost two hours notice of Japanese bombers heading their way. This enabled the ragtag "Cactus Air Force" to get into the air and swoop down on the Japanese planes when they arrived. Without the coastwatchers the vital battle for Guadalcanal might have been lost. Later the coastwatchers also became rescuers of downed US pilots and sailers, notably of a young naval lieutenant named John F. Kennedy whose PT Boat was sunk. Perhaps the most remarkable story in the book is that of Jacob Vouza, an island native who was shot, bayoneted, and left for dead by the Japanese but survived to report the advance of a Japanese batallion readying an attack on the Americans.

Author Walter Lord tells in "Lonely Vigil" what had been the untold story of the coastwatchers. Much of the book is compiled from interviews with about 100 participants. It's a fascinating and exotic tale of unconventional warriors, heroes, and colorful characters that should be on the reading list of essential World War II books.

Smallchief