50 years on

By Capt Andrew Bird

LCpl John Craig in Baghdad. Photo by Sgt John Coombe ,1JPAU(P)

The air was typically Baghdad, dry and hot. The perspiration beneath your ballistic vest was constant and unrelenting, the curfew had kicked in and the streets were quiet but unpredictable.

A digger stood by his sentry outside the Australian Representative Office (ARO) and in the distance, sporadic gunfire rang out across the ancient city in uncertain times.

For the soldiers from 5 Pl, B Coy, 2RAR, working as the Australian Security Detachment in Baghdad, there could be no better tribute to the regiment’s former heroes than to be serving on operations again to mark the Battle of Samichon.

The soldiers of the SECDET remembered the occasion with a breakfast that was hosted by the ARO personnel, with the diggers taking time out to reflect on the efforts of those men who had served in 2RAR 50 years ago.

With Samichon celebrations under way back in Australia, LCpl John Craig read out the soldier’s prayer, live from Baghdad via a sat link during the Samichon memorial ceremony back at Lavarack Barracks at which soldiers, past and present, of 2RAR gathered.

For LCpl Craig, reading the soldier’s prayer was even more important, knowing that his grandfather who fought at the battle of Samichon was standing among those heroes.

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