We salute all our national heroes

 AMID the solemn proceedings in bright and windy conditions at Remembrance Park, in Port Moresby, yesterday morning, many might have noticed the absence of a familiar face who would have laid a wreath were he alive today.

Yesterday was the first Remembrance Day the last of our better known warriors of the Papuan Infantry Battalion of World War II, the late retired Sgt Ben Moide absented himself from.

At 88-years, old age and ill health robbed PNG of this national icon last December. Moide had been an integral part of past Remembrance Day celebrations, representing his colleagues at the occasion.  

Moide’s attendance at previous Remembrance Day observances was a reminder to the current generations of Papua New Guineans what he and his comrades had done for what the country is today.

He had reminded us of sacrifice for a greater good – that of peace and freedom for all.  

Remembrance Day is observed on July 23 every year to remember the members of the nation’s armed forces who participated during the world wars and in general peacekeeping and law and order engagements in PNG and abroad.

World War II, particularly, had a huge and devastating impact on the then territories of Papua and New Guinea.  

The Kokoda Campaign, the Battle of Rabaul, the Battle of Milne Bay, the Salamaua-Lae Campaign and the Admiralty Campaign all left a devastating effect on the population.  

We are told that Ben’s father came from Kiwai Island, near Daru, in the Western District, while his mother came from the Motuan village of Pari, outside Port Moresby. Steven Benjamin Moide was born on June 21, 1924, the third of nine children. 

This mixed cultural background was a marked feature of Moide’s army and civilian life.

He left the Catholic School at Badili to sign up for the Papuan Infantry Battalion at age 16 without telling his parents but telling the Australian enlistment officer that he was 19. 

Moide was honoured with an MBE, then a CBE and he was chosen to represent all ex-servicemen at PNG Remembrance Day Services in recent decades. 

While Moide was one of the better known of the last surviving soldiers till his death last year, those had gone before him and others who had served in less ‘decorated’ roles all had a part to play in bringing an end to the scourge of war.

Although the history of wars all around the world is littered with tales of individual heroics and military genius, war is certainly nothing to be proud of. 

The lives of those who fought in such conflicts believing they were doing so for the greater good and for their posterity to peace, however, is something we ought to be proud of.

Many would want us to not merely remember them but celebrate their lives. We celebrate their bravery, courage and the ultimate sacrifice they paid. 

We celebrate the memory of men and women who gave selflessly for us.

We owe our freedom and general prosperity today to the past generations and more so to those who laid down their lives and fought hard to win us freedom.

Were some of those long dead valiant warriors to return to visit us today, would they be pleased and proud of how far we have come?

Would they be able to find sacrifice and selfless service similar to theirs for there to be continued peace and happiness for all? 

Or would they be ashamed and dismayed that a few have put personal gain and selfish ambition before national good caring little about the impact of their actions?

Sad to say that what some Papua New Guineans today might be to desecrating the sacred graves of those men and women who have died honourably for a nation of people free from dominion by any world, however benign.  The memory of our heroes should guide us into a greater degree of national awareness and pride and to make us direct our energies to ensuring peace and freedom and fairness prevail at all times.  

In remembering our heroes, we should treasure and embrace our relative peace. 

Elsewhere in the world today, particularly Iraq, Syria, the Middle East, North Africa and in the Ukraine people are dying by the day in their longing for the kind of peace we have taken for granted.

That is why we salute the sacrifice of our national heroes.