Six war veterans and prisoners of war detail what Anzac Day means to them
ANZAC Day means many things to many people, but these veterans and former prisoners of war are united in using the day to remember friends and relatives who died in conflicts. Here are their stories.
Manly
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ANZAC Day means many things to many people, but these veterans and former prisoners of war are united in using the day to remember friends and relatives who died in conflicts.
Some are barely able to walk, but they will not let that stop them from attending the parade in the city.
World War II veteran Bob Waterer, 92, is just out of hospital, but has only missed two Anzac Day parades since returning from the war – and that was due to illness.
He’s keen to pay his respects today.
Mr Waterer said he was grateful to Manly Warringah Cabs, which is offering free transport for veterans to the city and back.
Meanwhile, others will spend today in quiet reflection with their family.
Adrian Talbot, a young veteran who suffered depression and post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from combat in Afghanistan, said without his family, he simply wouldn’t be here today.
“I will spend it with them, thanking them for helping me,” he said.
Former child prisoner of war Catherina Ran, 84, said it was an emotional time for her, because she would be remembering her parents, who both died during World War II, leaving her, then aged 12, and her sister orphans.
While, they will all remember those they’ve lost, they will also celebrate the friends they made during wartime, many of whom remain lifelong friends who get together today to reminisce.
BOB WATERER
Bob, 92, was born and lived in Brookvale for 81 years. He was a baker in Dee Why for most of his life and also played in the first Manly Warringah rugby league team. He was an artillery observation signaller in the 7th Division and was deployed to Borneo to recapture an oil refinery from the Japanese. He now lives at the RSL LifeCare Narrabeen.
War memories: We were on a landing barge and we circled round waiting for the bombing to finish. We lined up and the bloke, a Yank, who was driving counted us down 500 yards, 400 yards, 300 yards, 200, yards, 100 yard and 50 yards and ramp down. ‘Now off you go,’ he said and turned to me and said ‘good luck kid’.
Anzac Day: It makes me feel very proud to be Australian and proud that I served for my country and did my little bit. I’m also sad for those boys who never came home, especially the way the country is going today. Why did they have to lose their lives? That bugs me.
JOAN FISHER
JOAN, 96, was a Red Cross Voluntary Aid in World War II, and worked on a hospital ship for 12 months, looking after sick and injured soldiers on their way from the Middle East to Durban. Later she went to an island off Borneo to help the POWs. She now lives at the RSL LifeCare home in Narrabeen.
War memories: “Some of the POWs were close to death. One English boy whose name was Private Flat was flat. The sheet covered him and his body wouldn’t have been more than a hand’s span high. During that period there were a few Japanese patients, one would not talk even though he spoke perfect English, so we had to get a young Japanese interpreter and he was a lovely boy.
Anzac Day: On that day my mind is flooded with the people I knew during the war and that have now passed on and the good friendships I made. But war itself is ridiculous. They never cease and take young lives and that’s a shame.
DUDLEY PYE
Dudley, 82, grew up in Queensland, before leaving school at 12 to help his father on their dairy farm. He then joined the 3rd Battalion Royal Australia Regiment as a cook in 1953. He served during the Korean War and stayed in the military until 1979. In 1974 he fed 300 evacuees affected by Cyclone Tracy being accommodated at North Head. He made them spaghetti bolognaise and black sweet tea to help with the shock. Later in life he started writing poetry about his war experiences. He now lives at the RSL Lifecare Narrabeen.
War memories: Mateship and fear. If you don’t have any fear you are gone, doomed. I t was the mateship and the knowledge you had someone standing beside you and behind you, taking care of you, who were prepared to die with you and die for you.
Anzac Day:It’s a very important day for me. My grandfather was involved with horsebreaking in World War I and my older brother is buried in Burma (Myanmar) as a POW. It’s for all those people who served their country, wounded, perished and those who came home. Very sad memories.
CATHARINA RAN
Catharina, 84, was born and living in Surabaya, East Java, when the war in the Pacific began. Her father was sent to a concentration camp, never to return. She and her mother and older sister were eventually made prisoners, too. In an overcrowded camp they were each given a space, 70cm x 2m. Children over the age of seven had to work. Catharina, 9, had to clean the toilets with no tools, so she gathered twigs to make a little broom. She also made a needle book for her mother out of old curtains and in the lining they hid the last of their money. She still has the needle kit and uses it to this day. Their mother was sick and died soon after they were liberated, leaving Catharina, 12, and her sister orphans. She lives at the RSL Lifecare Narrabeen.
War memories: In the concentration camp we lived with 39 people in one little home, so when it was raining we couldn’t all lie down so we took it in turns to sit up during the night. The boys were taken from their mothers when they turned 10 and sent to a concentration camp for males. I look at my grandchildren now and I could not imagine them being taken away from their mother at that age.
Anzac Day: I remember my father and mother who died in the war and all the other people who lost their precious lives in a useless war. I hope eventually they stop war.
ADRIAN TALBOT
Adrian, 36, served in Afghanistan with the Royal Marine Commandos. He now works for Homes for Heroes, helping veterans with mental health issues. He has also suffered depression and post traumatic stress disorder.
War memories: This memory is one that will stay with me for the rest of my life. There was a young man who was a signaller from the army attached to us. He must have been quite lonely. He was trying to call someone on the sat phone and couldn’t get through. I was next in line and he gave me the phone. The next day he went into the toilets and blew his brains out. We were sent in to do the clean up. To this day we don’t know why he took his life. The sergeant-major played it off and treated it as a bit of a joke, you often do in the military to try and get through things.
Anzac Day: I used to get involved in the marches, now I spend time with family. They helped me through the hard times when I couldn’t get myself out of bed. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be here today.
GEORGE MAIN
George, 66, from Galston, joined the army when he was 17 and during his 29-year-career served in the Vietnam War. He started in the armoured corp driving tanks and then transferred to the catering corp.
War memories:I was in Vietnam in ‘69/’70 and a strong memory is going to a new country for the first time and seeing a third world country.
Anzac Day: It gives me mixed feelings about all those gone before us, men women, children and families that have been involved in wars over the years. For me I also like to remember my mates who didn’t come back. War is a waste time. Look at the Vietnam War, we were over there a very long time and we gained nothing, but lost a lot of people. However, if a war broke out which could happen any tick of the clock, I would walk down the street with a banner saying don’t take my sons. But I know quite well my sons, like most young men would jump at the first opportunity to go to war and protect people. I guess that’s part of our nature.
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