Image Gallery: August 2007
M24 Midget submarine ceremony on HMAS Melbourne
10 August 2007
The Royal Australian Navy held two memorial services for the relatives of submariners who died when the World War Two Japanese Midget submarine, the M24, was lost on the night of 31 May - 1 June 1942.
The Minister for Veterans Affairs and the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, Mr Bruce Billson; Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Russ Shalders; and Commander Australian Fleet Rear Admiral Nigel Coates, attended the memorial services, along with the Japanese Ambassador to Australia, HE Mer Hideaki Ueda; the Japanese Defence Attaché Captain Kazushige Nagai; and the relatives of the lost crew of the M24.
A private ceremony was held in the afternoon, which included a viewing of Japanese Midget submarine artifacts at the Naval Heritage Centre followed by an at-sea commemoration at the site of the M24 off Sydney’s northern beaches.
As the M24 submarine is thought to contain the remains of the two Japanese submariners, Sub-Lieutenant Katsuhisa Ban and Petty Officer Memoru Ashibe, Navy divers collected sand from the site of the M24 that was presented to the relatives of the lost crew at the at-sea commemoration.
Read Release: CEREMONY MARKS LOSS OF M24 JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE
| 20070806ran8114832_100 Mr Neil Roberts and relatives from crew members of the M24 Midget submarine. (Date taken: 06 August 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20070806ran8114832_107 Commander Lachlan King (son of Kuttabul survivor Mr Donald King) and Mr Neil Roberts (a survivor of the Kuttabul) at the memorial site at Garden Island. (Date taken: 06 August 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20070806ran8114832_187 Military officials from Australia and Japan pay their respects during a ceremony at the Naval Heritage Centre. (Date taken: 06 August 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20070806ran8114832_337 Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Russ Shalders prepares to lay a wreath in the water near the site of the M24 Midget Submarine. (Date taken: 06 August 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20070806ran8114832_363 Ms Hiromi Takemoto, the niece of Sub Lieutenant Ashibe and Mr Kazutomo Ban, the younger brother of Lieutenant Commander Ban, place a wreath in the water near the site of the M24 Midget Submarine. (Date taken: 06 August 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20070806ran8114832_444 During the M24 memorial ceremony onboard HMAS Melbourne, military officials and family members look out to the marker buoy which marks the site of the M24 Midget Submarine. Family member to Lieutenant Commander Ban holds a photo of the sailor that rests below. (Date taken: 06 August 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20070806ran8114832_465 Ms Hiromi Takemoto, the niece of Sub Lieutenant Ashibe receives a gift of sand from the resting place of the M24 from The Hon. Bruce Billson MP, Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence. (Date taken: 06 August 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20070806ran8114832_490 Military officials and invited guests attend the service onbard HMAS Melbourne at the site of the M24 Midget Submarine. (Date taken: 06 August 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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