My grandfather was a member of the 2/14th and died on the Kokoda Track and he remains in PNG today. It is a very significant experience of retracing his steps, walking the track and visiting his grave that many of my family members have done, including my father, who only met his father once as a newborn baby. My grandfather had returned from the Middle East, particulary Syria before they were shipped to PNG.
My great Uncle, was 2nd/27th (Adelaide Scots). He died at Kokoda.. Your Grandfather and my great Uncle, would share ground in Port Moresby Military Cemetery I would think. That's where Jim is with his mates.
What always blows my mind is that the population of Australia was only 6.97million people. Then there were 1million soilders fighting plus the home front effort. It's insane. Nowadays lot's of people walk the Kokoda trail in commemoration. And as a personal challenge. Lol I say walk, but that's the understatement of the century. It's very very bloody hard to do. That's in peace time, in war time it was an absolute nightmare.
The Kokoda Track is a special place to most Aussies, because of the nature of the battle there. Milne Bay was an amazing fight as well. The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels saved many wounded soldiers. The Papua New Guineans are our brothers these days, held dear in our hearts for their sacrifices too.
@bigpuppy "The Kokoda Track is a special place to most Au...Milne Bay was ..." Often recorded as the first setback for Japan, and by militia, rather than regulars, at that. Keith 'Bluey' Truscott was a flight leader of 75RAAF flying Kittyhawks. He'd previously led 452RAAF in Britain and was Australia's then highest scoring 'Ace'. Bluey had played VFL footy for Melbourne, a Premiership player, before the War, its best and fairest medal is still the Bluey Truscott Medal.
@wally wombat "When i was a kid, it was known as the Kokoda TRAIL. I..." T'other way round, Wally, in only became the Trail after WWII, really in the late 1950s when Gazetted as such (Trail) by the PNG Government. Westerns were all the rage in the '50s so Trail entered Australian usage. .
There's a movie called "Kokoda". It's loosely based on the Kokoda track fighting. It's a scary, epic & an Aussie classic war movie. We will always be indebted to the "Fuzzy-Wuzzy" of PNG. "Lest we forget". My granddad & his brother (great uncle), both were in the WWII battle of the Coral Sea. May they both R.I.P. Thank you ADF for serving & continuing to serve this great land. To our ANZAC brother & sister from the other side of the ditch, I thank you for all the support & standing by your mates, here in Aus.
My Dad spent 4 years in New Guinea, most of the time on Kokoda. He was also separated from his unit for 4 months and my grandparents got a telegram to say he was missing. He survived, but he never spoke about it and he died at 60 of a heart attack. Dad’s brother was also there and they only saw each other once in that time…accidentally ran smack bang into each other in the middle of a torrential rainstorm. My paternal great uncle was at Gallipoli, France and the Somme in the First World War and my maternal grandfather was also on the Somme. He was a driver with the artillery…first in, last out…a very tough job.
My Pop showed me some pics of the Kokoda and Bougainville campaign in Papua New Guinea before he died. He was part 25th Battalion from the Darling Downs region in Queensland. The pics he showed me were mainly him, shorts, no shirt or shoes, holding a Colt .45 revolver, along with several Japanese POWs who were similarly dressed. It was for many years later I realised there were very few prisoners taken in New Guinea…
Kokoda is known by all Aussies. It's almost as big a deal to our ANZAC legacy as Gallipoli. It was also the first time the Japanese had been defeated on land by any allied nation.
I'm Aussie and did 7 years of my first schooling in New Ireland PNG in the 80's. We had crashed Japanese war planes as play equipment at school. There were left over bunkers, bombs, ammunition dumps and random volotile boxes of old ammo everywhere on the island.. Made 'Hide n Seek' bloody interesting 😂
@kevo "I'm Aussie and did 7 years of my first schooling in New Ireland PNG in the 80's. We ha..." Well done, mate. In the post WWII sectarian schools wars all we had were yonnies to chuck at kids from the local state schools. To this day, my Prod mates and I exchange those 70 year old sectarian taunts - and collapse in laughter in good fellowship. What a great country we live in.
My Grandpa server in PNG and as a grader driver there. He was shot, recovered and went back to serve again. he never talked about it but he also contracted malaria while there. and I remember him being "sick from the war" and being huddled un a blanket and us grandchildren being told to be quiet if in the room with him, and generally keep the noise down A few years ago, I opened his war records and gave a copy to my mother (his daughter) she was shocked, it's the only time she ever knew he lied, he always told the family he as on "desk" duty. he was a wonderful grandfather and as liked in the community, he was gentle warm and kind. I since have read quite a few books from that war, and it certainly sounds tough. He went as a young man, came home bald and grey with hat was left. He as the only son in his family and a a farmer could have received an exemption, but that wasn't him, his father also served in WWI, and I had the privilege of knowing him as well (he as buried alive in the trenches and was dug out alive unlike others near him). As a foot note I now understand why he was so critical of the graded dirt roads around the place, it the only think I remember him being critical of! he knew what he was talking about! I Quote Grandpa by this time he has cancer and was cutting up a sheep that was "taking longer than it used to": The thing that's wrong with people today is they complain about what they can't do instead of being thankful for what they can."
Walking the Kokoda Trail (or track if you prefer) is considered one of the Aussie war pilgrimages these days alongside visiting Gallipoli and Northern France.
My great-grandfather was a soldier and died in France in WWI. His sons were little kids when he died. They became members of the CMF as adults. Apparently, the older boy, my Pop, wanted to enlist in the regular forces but couldn't because he worked in a protected industry. I'm glad he couldn't, because he may have met the same fate as his father.
1 uncle was one of the Mice of Moresby in New Guinea. 2 of Dad's uncles were in the newspaper during WW2 as they and 2 others captured 800 Italians at Bardia, Libya. Apparently no shots fired! Sadly one of the uncles took his own life not long after he returned to Australia
After Britain more or less said to Australia “you’re on your own” we aligned more with the US and their support is the main reason we didn’t get taken over by Japan
Against vigorous resistance by Churchill, Australian PM Curtin (I think) pulled troops back to Australia. Some were diverted to relieve the Militia units who had fought a retreat along the Kokoda Trail back to a ridge within sight of Port Moresby. Just in time!! Together with the overwhelming logistical support arriving from the US, they then fought right back across the island to the north coast.
@dave jensen "After Britain more or less said to Australia “you’re on your..." That's unfair. Britain itself was under attack. Notwithstanding that, it maintained its presence in Singapore, Malaysia and India. It was very stretched. Australia and New Zealand were the most Empire conscious members of the Empire/Commonwealth, right up until the 1970s, to the extent that Robert Menzies entertained a hope and expectation of the possibility of becoming the wartime PM of Great Britain ! (look up his bio in wikipedia).
We STOPPED the Japanese in Papua New Guinea. That would be enough for most nations. KOKODA is famous to all Aussies - many do the trek as a pilgrimage... But we did SO MUCH MORE, including DEFEATING ROMMEL in Africa. Superb. 💪💪 Meanwhile, the Aussie women were MAGNIFICENT in so many roles here at home. 🌟🥰 M 🦘🏏😎
Apparently the Australians were the first ones to defeat the Germans in battle and turn them back in Tobruk Africa, up until then the Germans had steam rolled over everyone. ....... and again in Kokoda PNG the Australians were the first to defeat the Japanese in battle and turn them back, up until then the Japanese had steam rolled over everyone. ....... there's a video about it on youtube somewhere.
My Dad was caught in the Fall of Singapore to the Japanese & spent nearly 4 years as a POW in Changi Prison & worked on the infamous Burma railway. All those men suffered unimaginable deprivations & extreme cruelty, so many died at the hands of the Japanese regime.
@helenmckeetaylor "My Dad was caught in the Fall of Singapore to the Japanese ..." I had an unkle in Changhi. The very few times he ever spoke about his WWII experiences, he commented that the Changi blokes had it easy compared to the Burma Railways blokes. Hats off to your father.
My Grandpa was a Rat of Tobruk and then on his way home the ship diverted to Papua New Guinea and he fought on the Kokoda Track and after that worked for the army at Papua New Guinea in the aftermath of the war. According to everyone he was a changed man. I have a photo of him and he's only about 55 but he looks like he's pushing 70. It's horrible to compare that as I'm 56 and I look way younger him. That is what war will do to you.
First time WW2 German forces were turned back in a battle? Tobruk, Australians. First time Japanese land forces were defeated? Milne Bay, New Guinea, Australians again. A small Army punching above its weight? Yep!! Greatest WW2 setbacks for Australians? Greece and Crete, Singapore, Darwin.
15,000 australian plus other nationalities where taken at singapore (before Kokoda) an ended up as prisoners of the Japanese - put on the Burma railway and if they lived sent to Japan as slaves and were miners. (family members of mine) (some of those were drowned when the american attacked the japanese ships transporting them) Their are many stories of things that happened - Sandakan Death Marches in Borneo. I actual meet 2 veterans who told me their jobs was to travel down the coast of Qld and blow up bridges if the Japanese ever landed. it didnt happen and I would say that was partly due to the brave men along the kokoda trail (plus coral sea battle as well)
There were also a group called the Coast Watchers - people of many nationalities that relayed info about Japanese movements in the SOuth Pacific during WW2. They lived a life of pretty much constant fear of discovery, but the info they gace the Allies was invaluable!!!
That is a piss poor explanation of the battles for New Guinea. Particularly the attack on Port Moresby, the Japanese were weaken bot not stopped by the battle of the Coral Sea. The Japanese landed an invasion force at Milne bay with the intention of taking Port Moresby by a less arduous route than overland via the Kokoda trail. That invasion force was stopped by Australian militia, giving the Janapese their first defeat on land in WWII. Australia also gave the Germans their first defeat on land at Tobruk. Saying the Aussies punched above their weight is no idle boast.
1,000,000 soldiers was over 14% of our population then. A huge amount for our country to offer. Churchill used our soldiers in Singapore as cannon fodder to protect his tanks. Not the British soldiers but the Australians. He just thought of us as ex-convicts and so not worth anything. Churchill was not a very nice man when it came to Australia.
Mang people in Australia actually do a walk of the Kakoda track in PNG in memory of the soldiers. Gallipoli is the biggest australian battle in history. It was in the first world war. The movie Gallipoli with Mel Gibson is one of the greatest pieces of Australian cinema. Gallipoli is why we celebrate ANZAC day on 25th April every year. ANZAC day is also famous in modern times for playing Australian Rules Football (AFL) and Rugby League (NRL). The most famous ANZAC day match is Essendon vs Collingwoid (AFL). It will be 30 years of the ANZAC day rivalry this year. The match is always played at the MCG in Melbourne and gets more than 80,000 spectators to the ground and millions watching live on TV. The match is the biggest outside the AFL Grand final, which is the biggest sporting event in Australia. Followed closely by The boxing day test cricket and The Melbourne Cup, which is the horse race that stops a nation (as we say in Oz). It is on the first Tuesday in November. Another big sporting event is The Bathurst Car Race. Rev head paradise.
@martinwhite "Mang (sic) people in Australia actually do a walk of the Kakoda track i..." Yes, quite a few of my mates have done the 'walk'. I hate to be picky but the Edon - C'wood Anzac Day Match is not as well regarded among members and supporters of the other 15 AFL clubs, particularly the other 7 Melbourne clubs, a massive free kick for those 2 clubs. I once read, in a post in an footy internet forum, some clown claim that the diggers, in training in Egypt before Gallipoli, played footy to keep fit and played in E'don and C'wood jumpers ! Gallipoli was not the 'biggest', it was the first. That our blokes did so well was an issue of nervousness and pride among fewer than 5 mil at the time. We should be teaching our young real history, not commercialism. Frankly, I'd be happy to do away with Aus Day and the petty indigenous v traditionalists debate and claims and rely upon Anzac Day as our national day.
Aus was more influential in WWI, some historians even attribute victory in the War in Europe to the influence of the AIF, particularly at Fromelles then later in the German 1918 Spring Offensive, along with the Americans. Our military has a proud tradition, acknowledged as much by foes as allies. I've read comments after Vietnam War videos, by Vietnamese Australians, that if the Americans had been Australians in the Vietnam War, the North would never have won. [That's unfair to the US but, if accurate, it's a big tick to the AIF]
MSTV like to get your Reaction to this Video, where Aussie commandos under a British Major got the help of indigenous Headhunters in Borneo, Indonesia to help fight the Japanese. This is real Indiana Jones stuff, so exciting! The title on YT. is. "Heroes and headhunters: the secret World War II unit who stopped the Japanese | 7NEWS Spotlight".
It could have been a whole lot worse. After 1942, most Aus troops had returned from the Middle East. RAAF personnel stayed in Britain, particularly among Bomber Command. Those not in Japanese POW camps were relegated to mopping up operations in the Islands that the yanks had over hopped. McArthur wanted US forces to be credited with the big victories (Presidential ambitions) so the AIF and RAAF missed out of Gaudalcanal, Guam, Leyte etc, although plenty of casualties, possibly the reason I am alive.
Milne Bay (my grandfather was at Milne bay) was the 1st land battle that allies won against Japan, Kokoda was the 2nd and both were predominantly by Australians. 1 million out of 7 million people at the time served. 30,000 died in WW2 (the only time Australia was attacked). In WW1 60,000 died (out of 4 million total population) in a war on another continent. While all war is horrid, WW1 seems to take the cake and we should have learned better from it.
It was 6 million at the 1933 census and 7.7 million at the 1947 census. Estimates have it at 7 for 1940 and 7.3 for 1945 (there was a big hit of immigration from southern Europe 1945-47. Regardless of the actual number, a lot served from a very small population.
Hmm, you really think it was the troops or that lack of forethought nor priority the British command gave to it, to actually defend it with adequate defences?
Australia has fought in every conflict since the Bore War. An often forgotten fact of the British or global Western Allies. We might be the poor or young cousin, but it’s never hindered our resolve.
The English wouldn’t release Australian forces from Europe and Africa. Our pm had to overrule and demand the return of some Aussies forces to fight the Japanese. Back then the British military were in control of our troops. They didn’t like us because we wouldn’t always obey orders lol that whole debacle is what started the USA - Australian alliance. We allowed the yanks to base themselves here and in turn they helped keep some of the Japanese from getting here in the battles of the pacific and south east Asia
That is a fallacy, Australian battle discipline was second to none and they did obey orders. They were mostly just rowdy when off duty and showed much more initiative than some British officers liked.
@lillibitjohnson "The English wouldn't release....They didn't like us because..." That presents a view that facts and history don't support. ..." There is a unique bond between Brits and Australians, the differences celebrated in 'taking the piss' humour common to both cultures. "Didn't like" is so wrong, Australians were accepted in Britain as part of the family, to this day, still are, no matter what your ethnic background. To illustrate, in my last trip to the Old Dart, 2016, an Australian waitress of Greek extraction and I (Irish extraction) got involved in a very good natured slanging match with other patrons and staff in a restaurant in North London. I played cricket with a club in North London in the '70s. The banter was wonderful. Whence came our great grandparents, Brits see us as part of the family. Whilst my great great aunts/unkles might not have been, I'm happy to be part of the Commonwealth.
the grand old days when Australia was an anglo saxon country... try to get one young Aussie to join the army today. YOU;D have no bloody hope. but hey, you see them rallying in front of the town hall protesting with a GAY FOR PALESTINE PLACARD.. THE ALP HAS MADE US INTO THE WOKEST most feminist country on earth Make china great again
@@BaxterThewall Grow up mate, fair dinkum what's wrong with you ?, those of us that grew up back then experienced the best of Australia, I'm sad for you that you have no concept of what Australia was,
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
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My grandfather was a member of the 2/14th and died on the Kokoda Track and he remains in PNG today. It is a very significant experience of retracing his steps, walking the track and visiting his grave that many of my family members have done, including my father, who only met his father once as a newborn baby. My grandfather had returned from the Middle East, particulary Syria before they were shipped to PNG.
My great Uncle, was 2nd/27th (Adelaide Scots). He died at Kokoda.. Your Grandfather and my great Uncle, would share ground in Port Moresby Military Cemetery I would think. That's where Jim is with his mates.
What always blows my mind is that the population of Australia was only 6.97million people. Then there were 1million soilders fighting plus the home front effort. It's insane.
Nowadays lot's of people walk the Kokoda trail in commemoration. And as a personal challenge.
Lol I say walk, but that's the understatement of the century. It's very very bloody hard to do. That's in peace time, in war time it was an absolute nightmare.
its not much of a walk!!
The Kokoda Track is a special place to most Aussies, because of the nature of the battle there.
Milne Bay was an amazing fight as well. The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels saved many wounded soldiers.
The Papua New Guineans are our brothers these days, held dear in our hearts for their sacrifices too.
@bigpuppy "The Kokoda Track is a special place to most Au...Milne Bay was ..." Often recorded as the first setback for Japan, and by militia, rather than regulars, at that. Keith 'Bluey' Truscott was a flight leader of 75RAAF flying Kittyhawks. He'd previously led 452RAAF in Britain and was Australia's then highest scoring 'Ace'. Bluey had played VFL footy for Melbourne, a Premiership player, before the War, its best and fairest medal is still the Bluey Truscott Medal.
German Field Marshal, Erwin Rommel allegedly said, "If I had to take Hell I would use the Australians to take it and the New Zealanders to hold it!"
When i was a kid, it was known as the Kokoda TRAIL. It has only been called the kokoda track only recently.
@wally wombat "When i was a kid, it was known as the Kokoda TRAIL. I..." T'other way round, Wally, in only became the Trail after WWII, really in the late 1950s when Gazetted as such (Trail) by the PNG Government. Westerns were all the rage in the '50s so Trail entered Australian usage. .
@@uinsionnoriain8607 My grandfather fought in New Guinea, and he always called it the Kokoda Trail.
There's a movie called "Kokoda". It's loosely based on the Kokoda track fighting. It's a scary, epic & an Aussie classic war movie. We will always be indebted to the "Fuzzy-Wuzzy" of PNG. "Lest we forget". My granddad & his brother (great uncle), both were in the WWII battle of the Coral Sea. May they both R.I.P. Thank you ADF for serving & continuing to serve this great land. To our ANZAC brother & sister from the other side of the ditch, I thank you for all the support & standing by your mates, here in Aus.
I have the DVD, awesome movie 👍🇦🇺
My Dad spent 4 years in New Guinea, most of the time on Kokoda. He was also separated from his unit for 4 months and my grandparents got a telegram to say he was missing. He survived, but he never spoke about it and he died at 60 of a heart attack. Dad’s brother was also there and they only saw each other once in that time…accidentally ran smack bang into each other in the middle of a torrential rainstorm. My paternal great uncle was at Gallipoli, France and the Somme in the First World War and my maternal grandfather was also on the Somme. He was a driver with the artillery…first in, last out…a very tough job.
@@Donna_C503 STAND PROUD DONNA.
@ I do. They all sacrificed their health,one way or another. ☹️
My Pop showed me some pics of the Kokoda and Bougainville campaign in Papua New Guinea before he died. He was part 25th Battalion from the Darling Downs region in Queensland. The pics he showed me were mainly him, shorts, no shirt or shoes, holding a Colt .45 revolver, along with several Japanese POWs who were similarly dressed. It was for many years later I realised there were very few prisoners taken in New Guinea…
Definitely do a deep dive into the Kokoda trail…
Kokoda is known by all Aussies. It's almost as big a deal to our ANZAC legacy as Gallipoli. It was also the first time the Japanese had been defeated on land by any allied nation.
I'm Aussie and did 7 years of my first schooling in New Ireland PNG in the 80's. We had crashed Japanese war planes as play equipment at school. There were left over bunkers, bombs, ammunition dumps and random volotile boxes of old ammo everywhere on the island..
Made 'Hide n Seek' bloody interesting 😂
@kevo "I'm Aussie and did 7 years of my first schooling in New Ireland PNG in the 80's. We ha..." Well done, mate. In the post WWII sectarian schools wars all we had were yonnies to chuck at kids from the local state schools. To this day, my Prod mates and I exchange those 70 year old sectarian taunts - and collapse in laughter in good fellowship. What a great country we live in.
My Grandpa server in PNG and as a grader driver there. He was shot, recovered and went back to serve again. he never talked about it but he also contracted malaria while there. and I remember him being "sick from the war" and being huddled un a blanket and us grandchildren being told to be quiet if in the room with him, and generally keep the noise down
A few years ago, I opened his war records and gave a copy to my mother (his daughter) she was shocked, it's the only time she ever knew he lied, he always told the family he as on "desk" duty.
he was a wonderful grandfather and as liked in the community, he was gentle warm and kind.
I since have read quite a few books from that war, and it certainly sounds tough. He went as a young man, came home bald and grey with hat was left.
He as the only son in his family and a a farmer could have received an exemption, but that wasn't him, his father also served in WWI, and I had the privilege of knowing him as well (he as buried alive in the trenches and was dug out alive unlike others near him).
As a foot note I now understand why he was so critical of the graded dirt roads around the place, it the only think I remember him being critical of! he knew what he was talking about!
I Quote Grandpa by this time he has cancer and was cutting up a sheep that was "taking longer than it used to": The thing that's wrong with people today is they complain about what they can't do instead of being thankful for what they can."
Walking the Kokoda Trail (or track if you prefer) is considered one of the Aussie war pilgrimages these days alongside visiting Gallipoli and Northern France.
My great-grandfather was a soldier and died in France in WWI. His sons were little kids when he died. They became members of the CMF as adults. Apparently, the older boy, my Pop, wanted to enlist in the regular forces but couldn't because he worked in a protected industry. I'm glad he couldn't, because he may have met the same fate as his father.
I know so many Aussies that went to Kokoda Trail as Tourists wanting to experience the conditions that their Father or Relative went through in WW2.
It's our right of passage...apart from now flying lead, easy water and medical. 🙂
Not right of passage., damn auto. Well yeah you get the meaning
And no flying lead. Geez
@@TimTaylor-fz9hx😄 yeah
@@TimTaylor-fz9hx👌✌️
1 uncle was one of the Mice of Moresby in New Guinea. 2 of Dad's uncles were in the newspaper during WW2 as they and 2 others captured 800 Italians at Bardia, Libya. Apparently no shots fired! Sadly one of the uncles took his own life not long after he returned to Australia
After Britain more or less said to Australia “you’re on your own” we aligned more with the US and their support is the main reason we didn’t get taken over by Japan
We have more in common with the Yanks than the Poms. Uncle Sam came to our aid in the Big One and we dont forget it.
@@partymanauthat’s no longer true now that USA has aligned themselves with fascists
@@partymanauas soon as USA invades an ally, as promised, we will all have to rearrange out alliances to saner partners.
Against vigorous resistance by Churchill, Australian PM Curtin (I think) pulled troops back to Australia. Some were diverted to relieve the Militia units who had fought a retreat along the Kokoda Trail back to a ridge within sight of Port Moresby. Just in time!! Together with the overwhelming logistical support arriving from the US, they then fought right back across the island to the north coast.
@dave jensen "After Britain more or less said to Australia “you’re on your..." That's unfair. Britain itself was under attack. Notwithstanding that, it maintained its presence in Singapore, Malaysia and India. It was very stretched. Australia and New Zealand were the most Empire conscious members of the Empire/Commonwealth, right up until the 1970s, to the extent that Robert Menzies entertained a hope and expectation of the possibility of becoming the wartime PM of Great Britain ! (look up his bio in wikipedia).
We STOPPED the Japanese in Papua New Guinea. That would be enough for most nations. KOKODA is famous to all Aussies - many do the trek as a pilgrimage...
But we did SO MUCH MORE, including DEFEATING ROMMEL in Africa. Superb. 💪💪
Meanwhile, the Aussie women were MAGNIFICENT in so many roles here at home. 🌟🥰
M 🦘🏏😎
Completely missed the Australian and New Zealand contribution in the Western Desert , particularly in the battle of El Alemein.
Apparently the Australians were the first ones to defeat the Germans in battle and turn them back in Tobruk Africa, up until then the Germans had steam rolled over everyone. ....... and again in Kokoda PNG the Australians were the first to defeat the Japanese in battle and turn them back, up until then the Japanese had steam rolled over everyone. ....... there's a video about it on youtube somewhere.
My Dad was caught in the Fall of Singapore to the Japanese & spent nearly 4 years as a POW in Changi Prison & worked on the infamous Burma railway. All those men suffered unimaginable deprivations & extreme cruelty, so many died at the hands of the Japanese regime.
@helenmckeetaylor "My Dad was caught in the Fall of Singapore to the Japanese ..." I had an unkle in Changhi. The very few times he ever spoke about his WWII experiences, he commented that the Changi blokes had it easy compared to the Burma Railways blokes. Hats off to your father.
My Grandpa was a Rat of Tobruk and then on his way home the ship diverted to Papua New Guinea and he fought on the Kokoda Track and after that worked for the army at Papua New Guinea in the aftermath of the war. According to everyone he was a changed man. I have a photo of him and he's only about 55 but he looks like he's pushing 70. It's horrible to compare that as I'm 56 and I look way younger him. That is what war will do to you.
Kokoda/PNG was the first time Japan was pushed back on the battlefield in WW2.
First time WW2 German forces were turned back in a battle? Tobruk, Australians. First time Japanese land forces were defeated? Milne Bay, New Guinea, Australians again. A small Army punching above its weight? Yep!!
Greatest WW2 setbacks for Australians? Greece and Crete, Singapore, Darwin.
15,000 australian plus other nationalities where taken at singapore (before Kokoda) an ended up as prisoners of the Japanese - put on the Burma railway and if they lived sent to Japan as slaves and were miners. (family members of mine) (some of those were drowned when the american attacked the japanese ships transporting them) Their are many stories of things that happened - Sandakan Death Marches in Borneo. I actual meet 2 veterans who told me their jobs was to travel down the coast of Qld and blow up bridges if the Japanese ever landed. it didnt happen and I would say that was partly due to the brave men along the kokoda trail (plus coral sea battle as well)
My father was in the airforce as a map maker in New Guinea and Indonesia. He was only aged 19 - 21.
There were also a group called the Coast Watchers - people of many nationalities that relayed info about Japanese movements in the SOuth Pacific during WW2. They lived a life of pretty much constant fear of discovery, but the info they gace the Allies was invaluable!!!
That is a piss poor explanation of the battles for New Guinea. Particularly the attack on Port Moresby, the Japanese were weaken bot not stopped by the battle of the Coral Sea. The Japanese landed an invasion force at Milne bay with the intention of taking Port Moresby by a less arduous route than overland via the Kokoda trail. That invasion force was stopped by Australian militia, giving the Janapese their first defeat on land in WWII. Australia also gave the Germans their first defeat on land at Tobruk. Saying the Aussies punched above their weight is no idle boast.
Australian population in 1939 was just on 7 million. So military involvement of 1 million was HUGE.
You should definitely take a look at Z Special Unit and Operation Jaywick... amazing!
1,000,000 soldiers was over 14% of our population then. A huge amount for our country to offer. Churchill used our soldiers in Singapore as cannon fodder to protect his tanks. Not the British soldiers but the Australians. He just thought of us as ex-convicts and so not worth anything. Churchill was not a very nice man when it came to Australia.
Mate... proof read your comment... very poor 🙄🙄
@@BaxterThewall It's called corrective text, one mistake. Gee, what crawled up your rear end.
My mother was a war nurse, she was my hero, she had more guts than any woman that I've ever personally known 👍🇦🇺
The 2/14 relieved the 39th battalion who were a militia unit, undertrained, equipt and supported, but "held the line"!!
Australian farm boys defeated the Japanese in Papua New Guinea .
Germany's first land loss in WW2; Tobruk & the Australians in Africa ruclips.net/video/5oM3CJjHi6s/видео.html
Mang people in Australia actually do a walk of the Kakoda track in PNG in memory of the soldiers. Gallipoli is the biggest australian battle in history. It was in the first world war. The movie Gallipoli with Mel Gibson is one of the greatest pieces of Australian cinema. Gallipoli is why we celebrate ANZAC day on 25th April every year. ANZAC day is also famous in modern times for playing Australian Rules Football (AFL) and Rugby League (NRL). The most famous ANZAC day match is Essendon vs Collingwoid (AFL). It will be 30 years of the ANZAC day rivalry this year. The match is always played at the MCG in Melbourne and gets more than 80,000 spectators to the ground and millions watching live on TV. The match is the biggest outside the AFL Grand final, which is the biggest sporting event in Australia. Followed closely by The boxing day test cricket and The Melbourne Cup, which is the horse race that stops a nation (as we say in Oz). It is on the first Tuesday in November. Another big sporting event is The Bathurst Car Race. Rev head paradise.
@martinwhite "Mang (sic) people in Australia actually do a walk of the Kakoda track i..." Yes, quite a few of my mates have done the 'walk'. I hate to be picky but the Edon - C'wood Anzac Day Match is not as well regarded among members and supporters of the other 15 AFL clubs, particularly the other 7 Melbourne clubs, a massive free kick for those 2 clubs. I once read, in a post in an footy internet forum, some clown claim that the diggers, in training in Egypt before Gallipoli, played footy to keep fit and played in E'don and C'wood jumpers ! Gallipoli was not the 'biggest', it was the first. That our blokes did so well was an issue of nervousness and pride among fewer than 5 mil at the time. We should be teaching our young real history, not commercialism. Frankly, I'd be happy to do away with Aus Day and the petty indigenous v traditionalists debate and claims and rely upon Anzac Day as our national day.
Aus was more influential in WWI, some historians even attribute victory in the War in Europe to the influence of the AIF, particularly at Fromelles then later in the German 1918 Spring Offensive, along with the Americans. Our military has a proud tradition, acknowledged as much by foes as allies. I've read comments after Vietnam War videos, by Vietnamese Australians, that if the Americans had been Australians in the Vietnam War, the North would never have won. [That's unfair to the US but, if accurate, it's a big tick to the AIF]
MSTV like to get your Reaction to this Video, where Aussie commandos under a British Major got the help of indigenous Headhunters in Borneo, Indonesia to help fight the Japanese.
This is real Indiana Jones stuff, so exciting!
The title on YT. is.
"Heroes and headhunters: the secret World War II unit who stopped the Japanese | 7NEWS Spotlight".
It could have been a whole lot worse. After 1942, most Aus troops had returned from the Middle East. RAAF personnel stayed in Britain, particularly among Bomber Command. Those not in Japanese POW camps were relegated to mopping up operations in the Islands that the yanks had over hopped. McArthur wanted US forces to be credited with the big victories (Presidential ambitions) so the AIF and RAAF missed out of Gaudalcanal, Guam, Leyte etc, although plenty of casualties, possibly the reason I am alive.
Milne Bay (my grandfather was at Milne bay) was the 1st land battle that allies won against Japan, Kokoda was the 2nd and both were predominantly by Australians.
1 million out of 7 million people at the time served.
30,000 died in WW2 (the only time Australia was attacked). In WW1 60,000 died (out of 4 million total population) in a war on another continent. While all war is horrid, WW1 seems to take the cake and we should have learned better from it.
@ murray "...1 million out of 7 million people at the time served. Figures I've seen suggest fewer than 6 mil
It was 6 million at the 1933 census and 7.7 million at the 1947 census. Estimates have it at 7 for 1940 and 7.3 for 1945 (there was a big hit of immigration from southern Europe 1945-47. Regardless of the actual number, a lot served from a very small population.
G'day, My father in law faught on the Kakoda Treck. He had NO love for the Japanese.
I would've been there but I was still a figment of my father's mind. 😀👍
Should comment on the fall of Singapore where British, Australian and Indian troops stuffed everything up!
Hmm, you really think it was the troops or that lack of forethought nor priority the British command gave to it, to actually defend it with adequate defences?
Too this day you can do Kokoda.
Australia has fought in every conflict since the Bore War. An often forgotten fact of the British or global Western Allies. We might be the poor or young cousin, but it’s never hindered our resolve.
This post does not even come close to explaining the horrors of the Kokoda track or the battles of Buna Gona.
The English wouldn’t release Australian forces from Europe and Africa. Our pm had to overrule and demand the return of some Aussies forces to fight the Japanese. Back then the British military were in control of our troops. They didn’t like us because we wouldn’t always obey orders lol that whole debacle is what started the USA - Australian alliance. We allowed the yanks to base themselves here and in turn they helped keep some of the Japanese from getting here in the battles of the pacific and south east Asia
That is a fallacy, Australian battle discipline was second to none and they did obey orders. They were mostly just rowdy when off duty and showed much more initiative than some British officers liked.
@ they obeyed orders unless those orders were ridiculous.
@@lillibitjohnson7293 you watch too many movies
@ aw. Disappointing you don’t don’t yell “fake news” people are so triggered because I copied and pasted a news article lol
@lillibitjohnson "The English wouldn't release....They didn't like us because..." That presents a view that facts and history don't support. ..." There is a unique bond between Brits and Australians, the differences celebrated in 'taking the piss' humour common to both cultures. "Didn't like" is so wrong, Australians were accepted in Britain as part of the family, to this day, still are, no matter what your ethnic background. To illustrate, in my last trip to the Old Dart, 2016, an Australian waitress of Greek extraction and I (Irish extraction) got involved in a very good natured slanging match with other patrons and staff in a restaurant in North London. I played cricket with a club in North London in the '70s. The banter was wonderful. Whence came our great grandparents, Brits see us as part of the family. Whilst my great great aunts/unkles might not have been, I'm happy to be part of the Commonwealth.
ruclips.net/video/ETD_rQqDKhc/видео.htmlsi=COk5vv7rlbSqcc7y
the grand old days when Australia was an anglo saxon country... try to get one young Aussie to join the army today. YOU;D have no bloody hope. but hey, you see them rallying in front of the town hall protesting with a GAY FOR PALESTINE PLACARD.. THE ALP HAS MADE US INTO THE WOKEST most feminist country on earth Make china great again
Please get help.
I Totally agree with you jules 👍🇦🇺
You forgot to take your meds, mate 🙄
@@BaxterThewall Grow up mate, fair dinkum what's wrong with you ?, those of us that grew up back then experienced the best of Australia, I'm sad for you that you have no concept of what Australia was,
it;s sad when you have a prime minister who is a GAY ACTIVIST
Grow up
@@nolaj114agree with you Nolaj sick of homophobic idiots…
@@nolaj114 truth hurts sno w fla ke woke as s.. Australia has turned soft , wake up i diot.. We need a Trump here or we will fail and fall...
@@nolaj114 oh before you critise my Grammer, it's because wokeness RUclips , had to put spaces in words
My point proved