From: James Bowen
Date: 19 December 2005 3:59:52 PM
To: Steve Gower
Subject: Re: Japan's plans for Australia in 1942
Dear Major General Gower,
In your email of 8 November 2005 you stated (see copy below) that you did not wish to be drawn into "a protracted argument on this matter", and I will respect your expressed wish as far as I feel that it is possible to do so. As one of the founders of the Battle for Australia Commemoration in 1997 (the other founder was Major General W.B. Digger James, AC, MBE, MC), my greatest concern about Dr Stanley's revisionist approach to Australia's peril in 1942 is that it has the capacity to undermine the rationale for the national Battle for Australia Commemoration. I feel that it is clearly open from Dr Stanley's paper "Threat made manifest" to draw the conclusion that it is his intention to do so, and I draw your attention in particular to the following passage:
"The Pacific war began badly for Australia and the Western allies. Hong Kong had surrendered by Christmas, Malaya had fallen by the end of January and Singapore, the bastion of British empire power in Asia, two weeks later. With its fall, John Curtin, Australia's prime minister since October 1941, warned the Australian people that "the fall of Singapore opens the battle for Australia". "Battle for Australia" committees have recently appropriated this phrase, seeking to redefine Australia's war around the idea of a deliverance from a Japanese threat." The emphasis is mine.
Those of us who are deeply committed to the Battle for Australia Commemoration and to paying honour to those who died defending Australia from Japanese attack in 1942 know our history of 1942, and we know that Australia was delivered from a grave Japanese threat in 1942. We are certainly not engaged in what Dr Stanley describes as an attempt to "redefine Australia's war around the idea of deliverance from a Japanese threat". I find this suggestion offensive. Australia was under grave threat from Japan in 1942, and our most distinguished Australian Pacific War historian, Professor David Horner, has acknowledged the gravity of that threat. I consulted with Professor Horner (then Dr Horner) when I defined the ambit of the Battle for Australia in 1997. I received the public support of the present Prime Minister when I put the proposal for commemoration of the Battle for Australia before the 1998 National Congress of the RSL. I find Dr Stanley's undermining of our efforts to honour the Australians and Americans who sacrificed their lives in the defence of Australia in 1942 highly objectionable. I was certainly surprised to read of your support for Dr Stanley on this issue when you wrote: "Dr Stanley has legitimate arguments in my opinion".
You are probably aware that the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Federal Opposition are reported to have publicly rebuked Dr Stanley on the occasion of the 2005 Battle for Australia Commemoration (Melbourne Herald Sun, 8 September 2005). Mr Beazley is reported to have described Dr Stanley's views on this issue as "offensive and wrong". The fact that you have given the support of the Australian War Memorial to Dr Stanley's revisionism in regard to 1942 persuaded me to provide on the Battle for Australia Historical Society web-site a detailed rebuttal of Dr Stanley's views on this issue. You will find the link below if you are interested in reading what I have written. I am very familiar with the authorities quoted by Dr Stanley in his two papers. Fuchida and Okumiya have little, if any, credibility in Japan today. I have provided detailed references to Professor Henry Frei's book and one of his published papers to demonstrate that this distinguished Japan scholar not only fails to support Dr Stanley's views but actually contradicts them. Emphasis added. Having been an honorary consultant to Federal Opposition Leaders on the Battle for Australia since 2003, I drew Mr Beazley's attention to the fact that I have provided historical support for his reported views at:
http://www.users.bigpond.com/battleforaustralia/battaust/JapdebAustinvade.html
I will be writing to the Prime Minister early in the New Year to draw his attention to our society's objection to Australian War Memorial support for those views of Dr Stanley that have the capacity to undermine the Battle for Australia Commemoration.
Yours sincerely,
James Bowen Convener, Battle for Australia Historical Society
RETURN TO:
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CONFRONTING REVISIONISM (at the Australian War Memorial)
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