101-year-old former 39th Battalion troop George Turner recalls dark days on Kokoda Track in World War II

One of the last surviving members of the 39th Infantry Battalion at the Battle of Kokoda has recalled one of his darkest days on the battlefront at a Gold Coast memorial event.

Behind tinted glasses, George Turner’s eyes shift to his lap as he recalls the moment his mate was “completely wiped out” by a bomb an “arm’s distance” away during the Battle of Kokoda.

It has not left him for 80 years – and never will.

The 101-year-old is one of three survivors of the Australian Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion. The other two live in Victoria.

George Turner remembers the fallen at the 80th Kokoda Day Memorial Service at Cascade Gardens, Broadbeach. Picture: Glenn Hampson

On Monday, Mr Turner sat front and centre for the 80th Anniversary Kokoda Day Memorial Service at Cascade Gardens in Broadbeach.

And in a true-blue self-effacing way, he said “they really shouldn’t have made such a fuss”.

“I was just a truck driver and didn’t really see all that much”.

Mr Turner said his duties in the battalion involved “keeping morale high” and feeding fellow troops.

Like the terrifying bombing he witnessed on one of his first nights of deployment, he said it was frightening driving the truck, given “we couldn’t see anything above us”.

Mr Turner recalls dark days on the Kokoda Track. Picture: Glenn Hampson

The Australians’ resistance at the Battle of Kokoda was considered an integral part of World War II and the stopping of the Japanese advancement.

The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), gave a heartfelt keynote speech to the packed audience at the memorial.

“The Anzac spirit was writ large for the Battle of Kokoda and the battle over that track in that dark period,” Governor-General Hurley said.

The crowd at the service. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“You have to ask yourself why over 50,000 Australians from all walks of life and all ages have made the pilgrimage to PNG to walk the track.

“Many of our returning soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and families of those killed have walked the track as a way to heal.

“Aspiring young leaders who walk the track view it as a milestone for their personal development.

“The story of Kokoda really does still captivate us.”

The Rotary Club of Southport Broadwater organised the event, with 200 people attending including city councillors Darren Taylor and John-Paul Langbroek and Federal MP for Moncrieff Angie Bell.