Sick or not,Those who would like to hear from Fellow ADGies.
Alan Atherton...........02-66875920
Paul Tuck....................02-49911964
Mick Brodie................ 02-99404340
Paul Pannowitz...........02-49500306
Bushy Bill Trevethan..02-68290177
Trevor Nye...................07 41256279
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VA109 Monday 26
August 2002
AUSTRALIAN VETERANS TO REMEMBER PNG CAMPAIGNS
A group of Australian veterans and war widows will travel to Papua New
Guinea in November to officially represent Australia at the dedication of
memorials to mark the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Milne Bay and the
battles on the beachheads of Buna, Gona and Sanananda.
The Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Danna Vale, said the group would be the
guests of honour at the dedication of a new memorial at Milne Bay and an
upgraded memorial at Popondetta.
"These memorials will be an enduring tribute to those who gave their lives
in the desperate effort to defend Australia during the darkest days of World
War II," Minister Vale said.
The Minister said the Department of Veterans' Affairs would seek nominations
from
ex-service organisations and unit associations, for up to 18 representatives
of the Navy, Army and Air Force who served in these battles.
"The Government also intends to include several war widows in the group.
"Earlier this month a group of 10 veterans returned to Papua New Guinea to
witness the unveiling of a new memorial at Isurava on the Kokoda Track.
"Now their fellow servicemen and women will stand on behalf of a grateful
nation and honour those who fought so courageously at Milne Bay and the
beachheads 60 years ago."
The Minister said the Battle of Milne Bay, in late August 1942, was a
turning point in the war, as Japanese forces staged a concerted effort to
secure a base for naval and air support for the attack on Port Moresby.
"The Allied defenders, including 4500 Australian infantrymen and RAAF
Kittyhawk fighters, drove off the enemy forces, inflicting the first defeat
of the war against a Japanese amphibious force.
"It was at Milne Bay that Corporal John French of the 2/9th Battalion was
posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his role in capturing three
Japanese machine-gun posts.
"Popondetta was the staging area for the Australian offensive against
Japanese positions at the northern beachheads of Buna, Gona and Sanananda,
the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the PNG campaigns."
The Minister said the Government had provided $1.5 million dollars towards
the Milne Bay and Popondetta projects, as well as the memorial at Isurava on
the Kokoda Track unveiled recently by the Prime Minister.
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hi mate great work re electronic blue beret some great photos and stories had a great time looking at the pics and had some
guffaws re the stories...
steve rooney raf regiment 82-92
Like the heading suggests the POM's archieves are near depleted and we need your help.
If you have a pic or two that you would care to have betrayed on our web site ( no bare arsed shots allowed ) then send them to the Pom for inclusion or if your not sure about all the mubbo jubbo goru talk then pop the in an envelope and the Pom will process them for you ( ps if you enclose $10-00 for postage i'll burn them onto a cd for your future use.
My home address is
The Pom
90 Station St
Weston 2326
NSW
Ph 02 49 362093
If you would like to call me first about having your photo's or slides put on CD.