Darwin's agony, 60 years ago

SOLDIERS from 1 Bde were a focal point at a recent ceremony in Darwin commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Japanese attack on the city during WW2.

As air raid sirens wailed across the city's foreshore, sappers from 1CER commenced a simulated barrage of enemy fire that swept across more than 1000 veterans and spectators gathered at Darwin's Cenotaph during a re-enactment of the first raids on February 19, 1942.

With the ground surrounding the site shaking with the tumult of the bombing raid, gunners from 8/12 Mdm Regt wearing period uniforms and webbing scrambled from hides to bring artillery and machine gun fire to bear on the fictitious enemy.

The ceremony also marked the culmination of a great deal of work from soldiers involved in the re-enactment - gunners from 8/12 Mdm Regt restored the 105mm M2A2 Howitzers used in the demonstration.

WO2 Greg Davies, 8/12 Mdm Regt, said soldiers had put a lot of work into making the re-enactment as life-like as possible.

"Their efforts should give them a great deal of satisfaction," he said.

"They have gained a lot from the experience."

In torrential rain, hundreds of Darwin defenders made a special pilgrimage to the Adelaide River War Cemetery.

All these veterans had passed through the settlement on their way to defend Darwin and some of those present had friends whose remains were interred in the graveyard.

The event was not so spectacular as the Commemoration Service at the Esplanade the day before but there was much quiet emotion near the surface.

The Reverend Arch Grant told of how he had been ordered to find a suitable burial site because there would be casualties and 'find somewhere with easy digging' had been the instruction.

Richard Overheu, veteran pilot of 13 Sqn Hudsons and later the commanding officer of a Liberator squadron, recited the Ode of Remembrance.

Watching him, the young schoolchildren in the crowd would not have realised his units had twice received the American Presidential Citation for Distinguished Service.

Neill Webb, a former soldier with 8RAR who had been in Darwin in 1942, had traveled from Geelong to be there and play the last post for his dead comrades.

As the mellow notes of the bugle sounded over the graves, the years rolled back for the older members of the crowd.

The war graves now lie in a lush tropical garden, tended by staff of the Commonwealth War Grave Commission. The years of war seem very far away.

Yet, reading the inscriptions of those who died so young, it is hard not to blink back a tear and remember the words 'they gave their tomorrows for our today'.

By Capt John Toohey