Call for Official Kokoda Day Proclamation
By: Charlie Lynn

During the period July – October 1942 Australian and Japanese soldiers were locked in a desperate battle along a narrow jungle track connecting villages across the rugged Owen Stanley Ranges in Papua New Guinea. The Australian soldiers – young, inexperienced and heavily outnumbered faced an overwhelming fanatical foe who had not tasted defeat since their entry into World War 11.in the Pacific War. The track along which they fought carried the name 'Kokoda'.

The series of battles became known as the Kokoda campaign. It was the first time Australian troops had fought on Australian mandated territory in defence of our homeland. It was the first time an Australian won a Victoria Cross on Australian territory.

The campaign began when the advancing Japanese forces attacked the 39th Australian Militia Battalion on the Kokoda plateau in the early hours of 29 July 1942. Over the next eight weeks Australian diggers from the 39th Battalion and the 21st AIF Brigade fought the powerful Japanese to a standstill over some of the most rugged terrain on the planet. On 28 September the tide of the campaign turned with the withdrawal of the Japanese from Ioribaiwa Ridge. It took another month of bitter fighting before the Australians recaptured the Kokoda plateau on 2 November 1942 and raised the Australian flag at a parade on 3 November 1942. The Kokoda campaign was concluded with the crossing of the Kumusi River on 16 November 1942.

The raising of the flag at Kokoda would not have been possible without the engagement of our naval, air and land forces in the South-West Pacific until this time.

Japanese plans for a seaborne invasion of Port Moresby were thwarted by Australian and American naval forces in the battle of the Coral Sea (4 – 8 May 1942) and the battle of Midway (4 – 6 June 1942). This left them with the only option of a land assault over the Owen Stanley Ranges via the Kokoda Trail.

Their preparations and subsequent plans were continually disrupted by the constant heroic actions of our fighter and bomber pilots who continually bombed Rabaul and the Japanese landing fleets on the northern beaches at Buna and Gona.

The tide of the war turned with these defeats – the first suffered by the Japanese war machine.

Australia currently has two official commemorative days to remember our sacrifice in World War 1 (Anzac Day and Remembrance Day). Anzac Day commemorates the landings of our Anzacs on the beaches of Gallipoli and Remembrance Day commemorates the end of the war.

We currently have one day proclaimed to remember our sacrifice in World War 11 – VJ Day on 15 August which commemorates the allied victory over Japan.

With the growing awareness of Kokoda it is timely to select an appropriate day that will cause people to pause and remember the sacrifice made by servicemen and women to protect our homeland and our mandated territory from invasion and occupation. An official proclamation will allow schools to focus on the significance of the day.

It has been said that Gallipoli created a nation but Kokoda saved a nation. Others have reminded us that at Gallipoli we fought for Britain and lost – at Kokoda we fought for Australian and won.

It is therefore timely for us to recognize the symbolic significance of the raising of the Australian flag on the Kokoda plateau on 3 November 1942 to allow them to reflect on those four words carved into granite pillars at Isurava: Courage – Sacrifice – Mateship – Endurance.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

Charlie Lynn has been leading treks across the Kokoda Trail for the past 15 years and has recently completed his 45th expedition. His website is Kokoda Treks

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