A day to honour heroes
SUZIE Gray has lived in Darwin for 42 years and carries her father’s World War II medals with pride.
Yesterday was no different, as she joined close to 200 people at the 75th anniversary commemoration of Victory in the Pacific at the USS Peary Memorial on the Darwin Esplanade. Victory in the Pacific Day commemorates the end of Word War II on August 15, 1945.
“My Dad was here loading supplies on the Peary on the morning of the bombing of Darwin down at Doctors Gully,” Suzie said, as tears welled in her eyes.
“They looked up and saw the sky full of planes overhead, and the next minute all hell broke loose.
“Luckily, Dad and his mate found a hole in the cliff face at Doctors Gully and took cover. Dear Dad, I love him to bits. I miss him, this is a very emotional time for me.
“He survived the bombing and then served in Borneo.
“After the war he never talked about the war, just like others. I lived in South Australia and I remember Dad would go and sit under the almond tree down the back yard when it got too much for him. We would leave him to sit there until he was ready to come back up.
“I am just so proud of him. I’ve been in Darwin since 1979 and I have never missed any war service commemoration of any kind.
“These events are such an important piece of our time.”
The depth of the bond shared by US servicemen who fought side-by-side with Australians was shared by US marine officer Lieutenant Colonel David Banning.
“The Australian-US relationship played a vital role in the ultimate World War II victory,” he said. “The emblem of the US 1st Marine Division is a diamond and blue cloth the colour of the Australian flag, overlaid with the Southern Cross, and that explains why the song of the 1st Marine Division is Waltzing Matilda, played even today at every single official Division function.”