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In the year 1942, during the Pacific invasion, the Japanese had built up a force of 13,500 in the Gona region of Papua with the intention of invading Port Moresby , they would use this as a front to invade Australia . The key to the offensive was an overland track across the Owen Stanley Ranges. The track ranged from the small village of Buna on the north coast of Papua and went up the slopes through Gorari and Oivi to Kokoda. The track was approximately 100 miles long, folded into a series of ridges, rising higher and to 7,000 feet and then declining again to 3,000 feet. It was covered in thick jungle, short trees and tall trees tangled with vines. On the 29th of August, the Japanese task force broke through the Australian line forcing them to retreat further back to Templeton's Crossing. Eventually, they were forced to retreat to the shipping port of Myola. The native people to Papua New Guinea were blissfully unaware of the Pacific war around them until it reached their own homes. They had lived a traditional life, with only occasional contact with Australian patrol officers. The Australians soon occupied these villages. As the fighting came closer, most villagers "went bush" to camps away from the main tracks. While they were away, Australian and Japanese troops wrecked many huts and, when villages were occupied by the Japanese, Allied aircraft bombed and strafed them. Hungry soldiers raided the village crops and shot their pigs. With villages wrecked by the two armies, and dead often lying in the vicinity, the villages were no longer habitable and were not reoccupied after the battle. New villages had to be constructed nearby. A group of natives called the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels carried injured Australian soldiers to ADS (Advanced Dressing Stations) and often escorted them to military hospitals. They often used fabric sheets stretched over Bamboo poles to carry them to safety. Eight natives were assigned to a stretcher and escorted the injured to safety, often under heavy Japanese gunfire. 600 Australian lives were lost in the campaign. This would have been much larger had it not be for the help of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. As one Australian Digger has noted: "They carried stretchers over seemingly impassable barriers, with the patient reasonably comfortable. The care they give to the patient is magnificent. If night finds the stretcher still on the track, they will find a level spot and build a shelter over the patient. They will make him as comfortable as possible fetch him water and feed him if food is available, regardless of their own needs. They sleep four each side of the stretcher and if the patient moves or requires any attention during the night, this is given instantly. These were the deeds of the "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels"-for us! " No known injured soldier that was still alive was ever abandoned by the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. Even during heavy combat. After the battle for Kokoda ended, many villagers continued working for the Allies, carrying supplies and building tracks, bridges and huts. Others joined the Papuan Infantry Battalion or the New Guinea Infantry Battalion. Gradually life returned to normal after the war but the friendship between the people of Australia and Papua New Guinea has continued to this day. ''Source: World War II Australia '' BERT BEROS POEM There is a famous poem by Sapper Bert Beros which illustrates the heroism shown by the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels: :Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels :Many a mother in Australia :when the busy day is done :Sends a prayer to the Almighty :for the keeping of her son :Asking that an angel guide him :and bring him safely back :Now we see those prayers are answered :on the Owen Stanley Track :For they haven't any halos :only holes slashed in their ears :And their faces worked by tattoos :with scratch pins in their hair :Bringing back the badly wounded :just as steady as a horse :Using leaves to keep the rain off :and as gentle as a nurse :Slow and careful in the bad places :on the awful mountain track :The look upon their faces :would make you think Christ was black :Not a move to hurt the wounded :as they treat him like a saint :It's a picture worth recording :that an artist's yet to paint :Many a lad will see his mother :and husbands see their wives :Just because the fuzzy wuzzy :carried them to save their lives :From mortar bombs and machine gun fire :or chance surprise attacks :To the safety and the care of doctors :at the bottom of the track :May the mothers of Australia :when they offer up a prayer :Mention those impromptu angels :with their fuzzy wuzzy hair. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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