Flight Lieutenant Raymond 'Ray' Graetz knew about the possible dangers of being shot down and captured by the Japanese. Tokyo Rose, (the Japanese propaganda broadcaster) warned that any airmen captured would have the muscles in their legs cut so they could not walk and would be left to die a slow and horrible death.

The pilot ditched the Beaufort close to the shore, just 20 metres from 60 or 70 Japanese troops.

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Graetz awoke next day and heard motor truck activity along the coastal road.

"I spent a wretched night being quite naked having lost my shirt and trousers crawling through the scrub. Awakening at dawn, I had enough strength to crawl back and locate my clothing, which was close by. I felt very weak as my wound had bled through the night. Later, I became semi-delirious and so lay under a nearby bush for the rest of the day. I also slept there at night."

Ray decided to make his way to Tadji. At Au Creek, he found two bomb craters partially filled with clear water.

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He made it to But Drome where the runway was full of bomb craters and damaged Japanese aircraft.

Deciding to travel at night he set off westward, but almost walked into a sentry. Soon afterwards a party of 40 or so Japanese arrived and started unloading trucks.

He lay watching for 45 minutes or so and then crawled back to the beach and slept under another bush. He had had no food all day.

Ray thought he could be rescued if he built a raft.

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"Later, while walking along the beach, I located a camouflaged 3-inch gun on wheels pointing seaward in an open-back emplacement. I put several handfuls of sand down the muzzle and in the breech mechanism. Nearby were several weapon pits designed for machine guns. Spent the afternoon wandering around the But strip inspecting enemy planes. Found a waterproof sheet and the silk from a parafrag bomb there. Henceforth used the silk at night to wrap myself in so that my wet clothes would dry."

Ray came across some native huts where Japanese troops had been living but had been abandoned after a strafing attack.

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Later, he saw six fuel tankers and an equal number of three-ton trucks.

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Having lain under a tree for the rest of the day, he watched as 50 or so fully equipped troops began to assemble nearby.

"In view of the activity I slept under a large tree, sharing it with two Japanese who retired for the night on the opposite side. Waking the next morning, I found my companions had already gone."

The fifth day began with Ray running into at least six individual Japanese soldiers walking along the track.

"They seemed to be very weary and I avoided them by stepping into the undergrowth".

He was crossing a creek when he spotted an elderly Japanese coming towards him.

"I walked straight past and he took no notice. Just across the creek, in a clearing, I saw six armed soldiers. I walked right on past them. They merely looked and said nothing. Several more were met, all walking eastward along the track. Some grunted as we passed so I grunted back a reply."

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As Ray continued his jungle trek, he ignored the shouts of Japanese soldiers working on a bridge who resumed their work when he didn't reply.

"Taking a course parallel to the coast through the thick scrub in the foothills, I came across a soldier boiling billies of tea."

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Rescue was just a day away, but a hungry and dispirited Ray wasn't to know that.

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Battling through thick bush in an effort to reach the coast again, he spent the night under another bush.

Ray continued along a narrow track in thick undergrowth where he met several Japanese soldiers who were all too tired to take any notice of him.

"Pushed on and finally reached the Danmap River. Whilst trying to cross, P-39s (US Airacobra fighters) flew over me from the west"

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Just as he was about to be rescued, Japanese soldiers opened fire on the boats after a raft had been lowered to float ashore.

"The boats silenced the fire after a heavy strafing of the beach and village areas. They then returned and shot two lines to me but I was too weak to risk being carried away by a strong cross current so I did not retrieve the lines. Eventually two of the crewmen swam ashore with the raft and brought me to their vessel."

The day after he was rescued, he was attended to by the medico on the mother boat. Flight Officer Graetz was returned to his RAAF base and interviewed.

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Flight Lieutenant Graetz was awarded the Military Cross for his 'outstanding courage, initiative and complete disregard for his own safety'. His devotion to duty worthy of the highest praise.