Servicemen welcomed home at last
THE remains of 27 New Zealand servicemen who served in Southeast Asia between 1955 and 1971 finally returned home yesterday.
Prof Warwick Duncan, who is a University of Otago forensic odontologist and a lieutenantcolonel in the Royal New Zealand Dental Corps, was among eight Otago staff members who were part the overall repatriation team.
The Otago team members, including bioarchaeologist Prof Hallie Buckley, archaeologist Dr Peter Petchey and forensic odontologist Prof Darryl Tong, worked behind the scenes to help positively identify the remains.
In an emotional ceremony at Auckland Airport yesterday morning, 27 caskets, all draped with a New Zealand flag plus one small white coffin, slowly came out of the cargo hold of a chartered Air New Zealand Boeing 787, direct from Kuala Lumpur.
The men died in combat or from illness or accidents while serving with the New Zealand Defence Force in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
The repatriation of the soldiers, and a 3monthold who was the son of a soldier stationed in Malaysia, has been completed.
Ltcol Duncan said there had been ‘‘a great deal of job satisfaction’’ in the associated repatriation work, ‘‘which hopefully brings some closure’’ for the families involved.
‘‘It’s always rewarding to work towards a common goal.’’
Ltcol Duncan has undertaken peacekeeping duties in East Timor, and Prof Tong, also a professor in the Otago School of Dentistry, was a colonel in the Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps and has undertaken surgical work in Afghanistan.
Lt Col Duncan said the work was ‘‘professionally challenging as well as emotionally rewarding’’.
At the Auckland ceremony, Defence Force pallbearers carried the caskets from the cargo ramp to a line of casket trolleys placed on the tarmac. A group of sailors, soldiers and airmen and women then took over carrying the caskets in a procession, led by Maori warriors, through an Air Force armed guard of honour and past dignitaries including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Defence Minister Ron Mark and defence force chiefs.
Ms Ardern said the ceremony and the welcome home from families was ‘‘incredibly moving’’.
Group Captain Carl Nixon heads Te Auraki (The Return), the project to bring the service personnel home, and said he was ‘‘very, very proud’’ of the disinterment team in Malaysia, and the ‘‘fantastic job’’ they had done.