WWII Filipino Truk Spy
I had always heard from the folks who were there during the war that somehow or another the Americans had a spy on the islands, but no one knew a thing. On the 4th of July, 1979 or 1980 ( I recall the date as there were no taxis available-they were all at the celebration, which is how I came by this info) Meg and I were walking (no taxi) down to Neauo (say Nay-oo-whoa) (site of the seaqplane base) Moen to spend the time around the Contl Hotel beachside. Well, lo and behold, here came this American couple walking toward us. We introduced ourselves (their last name was Meisner, from Washington) and they asked how come no taxis? We explained and they related they were staying in a village a few miles away, and were on their way from Hawaii to Guam via Micronesia. We offered to walk the distance with them, and I asked what they thot of Truk, etc.

Well, it's different than I remember, he started. I flew over here during the war in a B-24. Oh ho, I sez, another kettle of fish. I NEVER heard of a B-24 over Truk in all my born days. So, I sez, hmmm, say on. Well he said, we flew over here one night during the war and parachuted (Japanese rakasang- make the a's short ones and roll the first r-I am sure u already know a lotta Japanese terms, Justin, but this is the old language of WWII and prior, and many young ones use modern equivalents today-that's why I am passing all the terms on as I recall them) a spy onto that island over there (indicating Dublon). We came from the Phillipines. I did a triple take. Tell me
everything I clamored, all ears now. He was a Filipino, and was scared to death to jump out. Wud not go on his own, and so when we came around to the drop site for pass number two, we bodily threw him out into the night. Never did hear if he made it or not. He made it for sure I said. I then related the following to him...

Nisko Mailo, wife of Conrad and sis in law of the great chief of Truk, Petrus Mailo, told me this story in 1970 or 1971 prior to my meeting Meisner. One day during the war, she said, a big group of Japanese fighters (that's sentoki, meaning single seat pursuit-say cen like in cent and to like toe and ki like key, plural sentokin) arrived in the late afternoon, landing at the Moen airfield (kasoro). Roll the r's in Japanese, like in Spanish It's ka like Mass. cahr-auto, so, like sew and ro like row only with a trilled r. I was near when the came off the field and noticed how many young ones there were. The next morning, when they were at breakfast over there (indicating a place across the road at the base of Mt Tonachau), here came a bunch of American fighters! The shot everything in sight, and them bombed the airfield and got the restaurant and other buildings too. I was not far away and ran for cover into a cave-shelter (pokungo - that's po, as in polite, ku, that's ku like the ku in kubla khan, ngo, that's like the Vietnamese name Ngo). I never made it. A bomb (pakutang, that's pa like ma and pa, ku, like koo, tang ya like yawn)exploded nearby and I was wounded in the head and was later found and taken to the hospital. Here she bowed down her head, parted her hair and showed me a scar on the top of her head about an inch and a half long. I was later released and went home. The next day, I came to see what had happened. There were lotsa dead Japanese floating in the water and on the shoreline in the water. They looked like this-here she bared her teeth in a grimmace, held her hands up to her shoulders and made claws outta them.--Demonstrative!!-

When Nisko went to the hospital (Japanese pioing , say pee like pee, o like oh and ing like the ending of singing) they washed her wounds with all they had --the most sanitary liquid you can imagine. They also transfused it to serve as a vechicle for blood when there was nothing else. You can wash wounds with it, ferment it and drink it straight. What is it? Coconut milk. Perfectly sanitary, sealed hermetically and the younger nut has clear liquid that later becomes "milk".

Well, Meisner was interested to know one of the outcomes. All the Trukese I met said the spy was never captured, and when u think about it, Truk is less than 1000 miles east of the PI and the flora/fauna is the same. Being small and dark, he would be easily hidden, and there's lotsa places where there was no need to go look around--like Guam until today. eisner went on to Guam to meet his son Mark.

I note 60 Meisners in the Washington white pages. The Mark listed there is not the Mark Meisner son of this aviator (?) I told you about.

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