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Boys
back at Hellfire Pass
From
WOFF Steven Reid in Thailand
IN THAILAND, the Anzac spirit is commemorated with the conduct of
a Dawn Service at a very special place - a remote site that is charged
with historical significance for the people of Australia and New
Zealand.
That
place is Hellfire Pass, located in the province of Kanchanaburi
about three hours drive north-west of Bangkok, the sprawling capital
city of Thailand.
Hellfire
Pass is one of many evocative places along the notorious Burma-Thailand
Railway, a line which was constructed using the forced labour of
thousands of Allied POWs and Asian labourers held by the Japanese
during WW2.
Many
prisoners died under the punishing conditions and harsh environment.
On
April 25, the Minister for Immigration and Aboriginal Affairs, Amanda
Vanstone, accompanied the Ambassadors and Defence Attachés
of Australia and New Zealand, with senior Australian, New Zealand
and Thai officials and dignitaries, to the Dawn Service at Hellfire
Pass. About 450 attendees were honoured with the presence of four
former PoWs.
Royal
Thai Army buglers playing the Last Post and Reveille, with Robert
Noakes from the Australian Embassy adding the haunting sadness of
the pipes, combined to ensure a truly poignant addition to the observation
of silence in Hellfire Pass.
After
the service, a traditional gunfire breakfast - including shots of
specially imported Bundaberg Rum and Anzac biscuits baked by members
of the Aussie and Kiwi communities in Thailand - was served in the
grounds of the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum.
As
each year passes, the number of former PoWs able to make the journey
to Hellfire Pass dwindles. But the significance and the solemnity
of Hellfire Pass draws more and more travellers from, not only Anzac
nations, but around the world. It is a journey that has become a
pilgrimage for a growing number of younger Australians.
The
Australian Government, through the Department of Veterans' Affairs,
operates a magnificent memorial museum near the pass and has turned
parts of the old railway line into a walking trail.
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