Courage

For Christmas I was given a book by my parents called 'The Changi Brownlow'.

Mum was on the mark when she said no book could sum up my interests more!  A book that combined my high interest in Australian WWII history and my obsession with the great game of Australian Rules Football.

I took some time getting around to reading this book as I had other books lined up, but about 2 weeks ago I began reading it.  And I finished it this afternoon.  I cannot put into words how this book made me feel and I feel words are feeble to attempt to explain the feeling that I have about the story and other Australian WWII stories.  But if I were to try, I think the words 'sheer unrelenting pride' would be the overwhelming emotion I feel.  Inspired would be another and I mean inspired to the point of outward emotion, even tears.

A couple of years ago I began a journey in getting to know the story of the person I feel could be described as the Greatest Australian that ever live - Prime Minister John Curtin.  He was our Prime Minister from October 1941 until his death in office on 5 July 1945.  He is the only man in Australian history who can say that he saved our country from invasion.  A man who unwaiveringly loved our country and devoted his life to saving it from a ruthless enemy, which he ultimately did.  He put so much into this monsterous effort that it is said that his death should be counted amongst the official Australian WWII death toll.  When I finished reading his brilliant biography John Curtin: A Life by David Day, I was in the USA.  I began telling a close friend about his story and all of a sudden began weeping uncontrollably.  I quickly left the house and was inconsolable for some time.  That is the kind of effect these stories have on me.

The Changi Brownlow is about a man by the name of Peter Chitty who played VFL football before signing up to fight in the 8th Division of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force (AIF).  Once deployed to fight, he was sent to Singapore to help defend that most important island and port to the defense of Australia.  It was actually hours before the bombing of Pearl Harbour when the Japanese bombed the Port of Singapore and invaded the Malay Peninsula.  This caused John Curtin to declare war on Japan, making him the first Australian Prime Minister to declare war on a country independent of England.  Most people do not know that the continent of Australia was bombed by the Japanese 92 times during WWII.

After a tough fight, the Japanese with a force of only about 1/3 of the troops of the allied contingent, forced the allied commanders into the surrender of Singapore, forcing about 80,000 Australian, British, Indian and other countries soldiers into becoming prisoners of war (P.O.W's).  These troops went on to experience extreme and unspeakable depravity and torturous conditions at the hands of the Japanese captives.  Under the slave labour direction of the Japanese, these soldiers went on to construct the Thai - Burma Railway which gave rise to the now well know places such as the Bridge over the River Kwai, Hellfire Pass and Changi.  It also gave us the name Weary Dunlop among other great Australians.

Before the soldiers were herded off to build the railway and face the death, disease and destruction found on the railway, sport was a big part of keeping up morale among the prisoners.  Many sports were played including rugby, cricket, basketball, baseball and volleyball.  But there was something missing for the soldiers, especially those from Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia - Aussie Rules.  Some of the prisoners had played at the top level in Victoria and WA.  Many meetings were held and eventually a very professional league was set up which included four teams with 18 players and one reserve each.  The four teams were Carlton, Saint Kilda, Geelong and Collingwood.  The transfer fee for a man to go from one team to the other was 3 bowls of rice and serve of veggies!

Before beginning the competition, it was recognised that they'd need a lot of new footy's!  So, the soldiers went out and hunted wild boars and got into business with local Chinese.  The Chinese made bladders out of rubber on hand and then made leather out of the hunted boars!  Brand new footy's were made for the competition.  The season went incredibly well and believe it or not, about 18,000 POW's gathered for the grand final of the competition.  The Japanese had to set up increased machine gun nests and aimed mortars into the crowd, just in case there was an uprising.

The name of the book comes from the fact that the organisers of the competition struck a medallion which would be given to the fairest and best player at the end of the season.  It was called the Changi Brownlow.  It would be based on the same voting system as that used for the actual Brownlow medal.  A 3-2-1 voting system as voted by the field umpire, just like we see now in the AFL.  As you may have guessed, Peter Chitty won the medal which he said was his most prized possession until the end of his life.  He was awarded several WWII medals and accolades for other action taken during his time in captivity but said this was the greatest of them all.  He said that the war medals were given to him but represented all of the men who went through the same experiences as he did, however the Changi Brownlow was something that he won on his own merits as well as the fact that football meant so much to him.  Later in his life it was donated to the Australian War Memorial where it sits today.  None other than the great Ron Barassi spoke at the ceremony.

So why is the title of this entry 'Courage'?

I think the word courage gets thrown around a lot without a true understanding of what it actually means.  As Rollo May says, "courage...is not to be confused with rashness...What masquerades as courage may turn out to be simply bravado used to compensate for ones unconscious fear and to prove one's machismo".  Incidently, the word courage comes from the French word 'coeur', meaning heart.  I think the best definition I have seen for courage is also by Rollo May who took from the words of Kierkegaard, Nietszche, Camus and Sartre to state that "courage is not the absence of despair; it is rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair".

What he means by this is that courage is shown by those who face uncertainty and despair, yet press forward anyway.  For a great example, think of a cancer patient who is given a terminal diagnosis yet attempts to live the remainder of their life with dignity.  I would suggest this definition does not  necessarily extend to what happens on the sporting field or where some celebrity seeks further fame by appearing on Oprah and seeks recognition for having stayed clean for 3 months!

Chitty was seen to be involved in several instances of personal courage during his time in the Ambulance Corps and then as a POW.  However I want to share one instance with you, that I still cannot comprehend but certainly makes me feel unworthy whenever I think about some of my own troubles.

When the Japanese decided that they would build the Thai-Burma Railway to ensure their supply lines for their surge south towards Australia and other countries, they used POW's to build that railway which included thousands of Australian's.  Thousands of POW's died either at the hands of the Japanese, starvation/ malnutrition disease or accident whilst building the railway.  Most died of disease or starvation/ malnutrition.  Countless acts of courage and heroism were perpetrated by the POW's during this time.

To build the railway, the POW's were force marched from Changi in Singapore all the way to Thailand.  They were forced to march 20km every day.  But this was no usual 20km walk.  Already malnurished, the soldiers had no clothes, no shoes, it rained every day turning the ground into mud, there were poisonous snakes, malaria, cholera, dysentery, locals trying to rob them and the abuse by the Japanese.  They even had to travel at night and rest during the day due to the unbelievable heat they were experiencing.

The Japanese refused the Red Cross supplies, (including food, medical supplies and medicine) that were delivered to help the POW's.  Therefore any man who was too sick to walk would be left behind by the Japanese to perish in a slow death.  But in a strategy designed to have the POW's push on, the Japanese promised that at the end of the forced march into Thailand, there would be better food and medical supplies available.  The soldier's pushed on.

At one point, a young soldier and mate of Chitty's who had been marching next to him, became too weak to go on.  Recognising that if this man was left behind he would surely die, Chitty put him over one shoulder and both his and the soldiers packs over his other shoulder.  He marched on with this man over his shoulder, through the mud and other treachery, until they reached their destination.  In the end, Chitty carried this man 155km to their final destination!

On arrival, the promised medical supplies and food did not materialise, in fact they were never intended.  About three days later Chitty learnt that the health of the young man he carried the 155km, declined even further and he died.  Chitty was said to be extremely distressed by the news.

Having learnt the multitude of stories similar, but not as awe inspiring as this one, I am driven to consider the use and definition of the word courage.  I encourage to you to do the same.

Although not part of the experience in Singapore, similar courage was seen in many under trained and under equipped Australian soldiers at Kokoda in PNG.  Perhaps the words of a commanding officer of the 39th Battalion somes up not only the courage of the soldiers who fought there, but also the courage and spirit of the Australian POW's in Singapore, Thailand and elsewhere.  He made this speech after the Australians had held off the advance of the Japanese, forcing them to ultimately begin to withdraw back towards Japan.  I believe these words are incredibly powerful and sum up the way we should all feel about the many soldiers who have fought for Australian over the years. He said:

"Now I don't know a lot of you by name, but I know you.  We met at Isurava and we fought there together and every step of the way here.  Now we are relieved and we will leave the battle.  And every day the enemies supply line stretches further.  He suffers now as you have suffered.  The battle you have fought at the track may have just saved your nation.  You have wounded him, we will stop him.  Brigadier wants you to know that your gallantry, your courage, your fortitude, are an inspiration.  And I want you to know, you are some of the finest soldiers I have ever seen.  You have seen things in this place that no man should witness.  Some of these things you must forget.  History will remember you and in the years to come, others will wish,  that they had your conviction.  Remember, remember the glory is not the exaltation of war but the exaltation of man.  Mans nobility made transcendent in the firey crucible of war.  Faithfulness and fortitude, gentleness and compassion.  And I am honoured to be your brother."

The words inscribed into the memorial at Isurava are:

Courage Endurance Mateship Sacrifice

These are the qualities on which Australia was born and the words on which Australia has endured.  Australia, please do not forget.  Australia please do not give up these most basic of Australian qualities.

D