Remembrance Day - Cowra Breakout
November 11th 2008 00:55
Remembrance Day is so important. As the years pass and the number of World War One and Two veterans decreases, it's possible to lose touch with the enormous sacrifice these men made for Australia. Since then, many more soldiers have fought bravely in wars, some of which were extremely unpopular at home. This does not lessen the need to honour men and women who have fought to maintain Australia's freedom.
But what of those we fought against? We see in the popularity of Gallipoli tourism, that in post war times, we must engage with those who were once our enemies. Australians and Turks together maintaining a site of great significance to Australians.
But Gallipoli is thousands of miles away. What of war sites right here in Australia? The highlight of recent family holiday was a visit to the site of the Cowra Breakout. A sombre reminder of the great cost of war to both sides.
In the 1940s an Internment Camp was established on the outskirts of Cowra, in western NSW, to house Italians and other nationalities deemed to be on the wrong side of the war. As the war progressed, the site became a Prisoner of War Camp, holding Italian and Japanese soldiers who had been captured.
Just before 2 o'clock in the morning on 5 August 1944, about 1000 Japanese prisoners of war launched an attack on the armed garrison. We call it a breakout but it was more like suicide - it seems the Japanese prisoners knew they would not escape. 231 Japanese prisoners died and 107 were injured. Four Australian guards were killed in the attack. All the other escapees were recaptured.
The remains of the camp lie in a field on hill above Cowra. Ruins of the camp's buildings dot the landscape. A simple track winds through the site. My children wandered through the ruins, amazed at what had taken place in such a serene-looking place.
So today on Remembrance Day, I remember all who have fallen in war. And I remind myself that evil happens when good men (and women) do nothing.
But what of those we fought against? We see in the popularity of Gallipoli tourism, that in post war times, we must engage with those who were once our enemies. Australians and Turks together maintaining a site of great significance to Australians.
But Gallipoli is thousands of miles away. What of war sites right here in Australia? The highlight of recent family holiday was a visit to the site of the Cowra Breakout. A sombre reminder of the great cost of war to both sides.
In the 1940s an Internment Camp was established on the outskirts of Cowra, in western NSW, to house Italians and other nationalities deemed to be on the wrong side of the war. As the war progressed, the site became a Prisoner of War Camp, holding Italian and Japanese soldiers who had been captured.
Just before 2 o'clock in the morning on 5 August 1944, about 1000 Japanese prisoners of war launched an attack on the armed garrison. We call it a breakout but it was more like suicide - it seems the Japanese prisoners knew they would not escape. 231 Japanese prisoners died and 107 were injured. Four Australian guards were killed in the attack. All the other escapees were recaptured.
The remains of the camp lie in a field on hill above Cowra. Ruins of the camp's buildings dot the landscape. A simple track winds through the site. My children wandered through the ruins, amazed at what had taken place in such a serene-looking place.
So today on Remembrance Day, I remember all who have fallen in war. And I remind myself that evil happens when good men (and women) do nothing.
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