You are probably aware of how in Japan dolphins are caught and killed, and its attendant cruelty. While watchinga whaling programme on TV, I remembered
a strange story from my boyhood which I would like to share with you. My father, who was on the warships during W W II, witnessed strange events which haunted him for the rest of his life. He never knew what to make of this tale and neither do I:
My father spoke of the dolphins that would swim behind the warships and play
jumping in and out of the water; and the men would throw them left over food
scraps. Suddenly the ship was conscious of an air attack, as a huge plume of water shot up right beside the boat, throwing a man who was watching the dolphins overboard and into the sea. They could not risk the safety of ship by waiting to pick up the man, so they had to leave him behind, miles from anywhere, at the mercy of the open sea.
The attack was like many at that time, spasmodic and nasty, but repairs were attempted at sea and the name of the man overboard was included with names of the dead. A small prayermeeting held later by the ship’s padre on the deck. Some weeks later, the ship was passing through the same area on the return voyage, when it was notified to pick up a man who wanted to return to his ship. My father, who was one of the ship’s doctors, was told to stand by to check him fit for service. My father and the crew were amazed when the same man who fell overboard appeared back on ship and told a remarkable story.
He claimed that the school of dolphins behind the ship took care of him and
helped keep him afloat. The dolphins took turns to nudge him from underneath, and he held on to them, drifting in and out of consciousness. He realised they were communicating with him, and ‘said’ they were taking him to the safety of land.
The ships captain whispered to my father that the man was obviously just
confused from his time in the sea, but my father said “we have just given him
a clean bill of health mentally and physically”. The man went onto say that the creatures of the sea were not pleased that man had made such a mess of things, and that they were distant relatives to man, beings from a distant part of the universe, who have come to help save the planet.
The captain said “that’s it! Lock him up till we get to port“. My father and the other doctors remained silent, but noticed that whenever the confused man was allowed to go to the rear of the ship, for his daily 30 minute exercise, the dolphins would go mad with excitement.
Now, there are similar stories which one can read up on, particularly, the
resemblance in skin texture to, what are called the Little Greys; but my father never knew quite what to make, of the man who was saved by the dolphins!
T Stokes
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