Figure 1.--Leonard George (Len) Siffleet (1916 – 1943) was an Australian commando. He joined the Second Australian Imperial Force in 1941 and by 1943 had reached the rank of sergeant. He was posted to M Special Unit of the Services Reconnaissance Department. He was on a mission in Papua New Guinea when he and two Ambonese companions were captured by partisan tribesmen and handed over to the Japanese. All three men were interrogated, tortured, and later beheaded. A photograph of Siffleet"s impending execution became an enduring image of the Pacific War. The Japanese executed quite a number of POWs in this way, but this is the only srviving photograph, The Japanese after 2 weeks took the captives down to Aitape Beach (October 1943). There on the orders of Vice-Admiral Michiaki Kamada, the bound and blindfolded men, surrounded by Japanese soldiers and native onlookers, were forced to the ground and beheaded. Japanese officers were very proud of their swordplay. Yasuno Chikao was the officer who beheaded Siffleet. He ordered a private to photograph him in the act as a souvnir. We note different accounts as to Chikao"s fate. The photograph of Siffleet"s execution was subsequently discovered on the body of a dead Japanese major near Hollandia by American troops (April 1944).
