Sergeant L has a knack for answering administration questions faster than an online search.
As a corporal, she led a culture shift in her unit that exceeded expectations, and her leadership as the acting orderly room sergeant earned her a Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award.
In recognition, she and fellow award recipients visited PNG, touring World War 1 and 2 battlefields and retracing the 2/22nd Battalion’s escape route after the Japanese assault on Rabaul in 1942.
She prepared her 50kg frame for the trek through the rugged Baining Mountains, which once concealed soldiers in their harrowing journey. About 400 men from the infantry battalion and support units, collectively known as Lark Force, were dispersed along the northern and southern coasts of East New Britain.
They ranged in formation from company strength down to pairs and individuals scattered throughout the region.
The fallout from Lark Force’s defeat was marked by heavy combat losses, widespread illness, brutal massacres on land and significant losses at sea.
Three and a half months later, the surviving 156 soldiers and civilians, many suffering from malaria and dysentery, barely clothed and on the brink of death, were rescued and evacuated to Port Moresby.
‘They remember the Aussie contribution, and we share the pain of what happened to our people. Our countries have left a lasting imprint on our hearts.’
It was Sergeant L’s first trip to PNG and she was struck by the local way of life.
“Trekking through villages, we saw people living with no connectivity, running water, or electricity, and many living entirely off the land,” she said.
Yet the warm locals greeted them with taro, garlic nuts, fresh fish and tropical fruits.
“It made me realise how invaluable their knowledge would have been for our soldiers – tracking, finding food. I wondered if more lives could have been saved by relying on them,” Sergeant L said.
As they passed through villages, Sergeant L could sense an instant connection with locals.
“They remember the Aussie contribution, and we share the pain of what happened to our people. Our countries have left a lasting imprint on our hearts,” she said.
Standing before the wreckage of a Japanese KI21 ‘Sally’ bomber at Lakunai airfield, Sergeant L told the story of Sergeant Jim Burrowes, an 18-year-old signaller whose behind-the-scenes efforts played an important role in defeating the Japanese Navy during WW2.
Before WW2, the RAN recruited plantation managers, missionaries and colonial officials as Coastwatchers, equipping them with teleradios to monitor northern threats.
By 1942, as Japan invaded the islands, this network grew to include Australian and US forces, along with local New Guineans and expatriates.
The Coastwatcher network codenamed “Ferdinand,” had observation posts scattered in the valleys, highlands and around the coastline of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands providing critical intelligence.
Sergeant Burrowes was selected as a Coastwatcher because of his office experience.
‘Normally when I deploy, I would be sitting behind a computer doing admin, so this trip was incredibly eye-opening and far outside the norm for me.’
He spent 10 months behind enemy lines in New Britain, observing and reporting on Japanese movements near Rabaul.
His morse code messages enabled the Allies to track enemy activity and, with local help, he survived in hostile territory.
The Coastwatchers played a role in the Guadalcanal campaign, giving Allied forces time to prepare, and saving countless lives.
They were also made famous for rescuing future US President John F. Kennedy after his torpedo boat was cut in half after colliding with a Japanese warship in Solomon Island waters.
Sergeant Burrowes was the only one of three brothers to return from Rabaul.
His twin, an air gunner and radio operator, was shot down on his first mission, while their oldest brother perished on the POW ship Montevideo Maru when it was sunk by a US submarine, killing all 1053 on board.
“Normally when I deploy, I would be sitting behind a computer doing admin, so this trip was incredibly eye-opening and far outside the norm for me,” Sergeant L said.
