Death railway remembered
Three ex-SASR soldiers embark on 300km pilgrimage to honour POW victims

Daring: Ex-SASR members Ron Fossen, Laurie Sams and Paul Billsborough at RMC’s Changi Chapel with the Australian flag they’ll carry on their journey. Photo by Cpl Damian Shovell

By Cpl Emma Rainey

TREKKING 300km along the hellish Thai/Burma Death Railway would be challenge enough without making the journey on one leg.

Laurie Sams, a former SASR WO2 who lost his leg in a horrific military parachuting accident, is one of three retired soldiers who will walk the line.

Mr Sams will be joined by Paul Billsborough (ex-WO1) and Ron Fossen (ex-Sgt), also former SASR, who will follow in the footsteps of F Force and honour family members who were taken prisoner by the Japanese.

The team aims to increase public awareness of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and the extreme hardships that POWs and indigenous labourers endured.

The expedition will be a deeply personal affair for Mr Sams, whose father was a member of F Force and was forced to build the railway as a POW, and Mr Billsborough, whose grandfather died working on its construction.

F Force was one of six groups that worked on the infamous railway and one that the team will play particular reverence to throughout their journey. The death rate among F Force was the worst of the POW force, largely because of disease and malnutrition. Historians say that for every sleeper laid on the railway, a life was lost.

Maj-Gen Mike Hindmarsh led farewell ceremony at Duntroon’s POW memorial on August 3, in front of the original Changi Chapel that was relocated to the college grounds after the war.

“The chapel is a special place that pays tribute to all Australians who were imprisoned by the Japanese forces at the Changi POW camp,” he said.

Past and present soldiers attended the ceremony, along with diplomats from Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, reflecting the long-standing historical links between our nations.

Expedition leader and Vietnam veteran Mr Sams said the Thai/Burma Death Railway Expedition, as it is officially known, is simply about veterans remembering other veterans.

“No matter what we go through on the 300km walk to retrace the route of the forced march, we can never replicate the unimaginable suffering endured by the POWs. We can, however, do our bit to raise awareness of the POWs rightful place in Australian history,” he said.

Mr Sams said that on the 300km journey, the trio would be following in the footsteps of the 7000 men before them, of whom 3000 perished.

“We will remember the suffering and the hardships they faced on the Burma border. We will reflect on our own family members who were prisoners and will salute the courage and mateship of these fine men,” he said.

The expedition will be the first time a team has retraced F Force’s 300km journey along the existing railway line from Nong Pladuk to Namtok (130km) and along the old Japanese-built road to the Three Pagoda Pass (175km), in only 11 days.

As a prelude to the main event, the team will walk the 25km from Changi Prison to Tanjung Pagar Railway Station in Singapore. They will also meet with a number of ex-POWs for a remembrance service in Singapore on August 15.

Maj-Gen Hindmarsh presented the three men with an Australian flag to be carried throughout the expedition.

Anyone wishing to track the team’s progress can get regular updates from the official web site, www.ourheroes.com.au.

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