The following message was delivered to Coastwatcher LEUT P. Mason, RANVR, in Bougainville: ‘My dear Ansacs. We all admire your bravery. You have done your best for Great Britain. You are advised to give yourselves up. The Japanese are not cruel people as the propaganda of the United States would tell you. You will die of hunger in the jungle. You will never reach your friends in Buka as all jungle trails are watched by the Japanese soldiers and the sharper eyes of the natives. Commander of the Japanese Army.’