philhawk
10 Dec 2007, 00:14
http://heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22896469%255E19742,00.html
Hawks in tropical jungle
10 December 2007 Herald Sun
Tim Boyle
A THOUSAND nameless graves lie silent in the breeze above Port Moresby, almost as unrecognised in death as they were, standing tall, in the horror of war.
Five day trek: Hawthorn players head to Stanley Rangers in Papua New Guinea. Picture: Hawthorn Football Club
Resting now, together, some 3000 brave Australians, as they were in the face of death 65 years ago. It's a heartbreaking memorial to the soldiers who gave their lives for others, gave everything they knew for us.
Their gravestones, some with names and tributes, many with nothing more than "Soldier of the war 1939-1945. Known unto God" etched into their base, stretch hundreds of metres across the field.
Stopping at one grave, it reads; "Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for a friend."
Gestures such as these and the four pillars at Isurava - mateship, courage, endurance and sacrifice - remained little more than words, until used to describe the sacrifices of these men, and now, just 10 days since arriving in Papua New Guinea, those words are carved not only into the stones of Kokoda, but into the heart and mind of all who have read them.
For the 15 Hawthorn players who made the journey, the physical accomplishment of completing the track leaves us with a heightened sense of what our countrymen endured.
In groups, we carried 20kg sandbags on our shoulders for hours on end, we stumbled and sprawled but finally delivered stretchers from one village to the next, giving ourselves a greater insight into the feats of our brave soldiers.
They toiled tirelessly, through malaria, dysentery, horrendous terrain and the relentless rain of both the tropics and Japanese mortar fire.
We stretched ourselves to exhaustion on day four, carrying a log of 400-odd kilograms through Naoro, over the nine false peaks of the Maguli Range and to the summit, four hours later. Reeling from our effort and hugging each other in the sheer relief of having dropped the tree, it was beyond comprehension to have reached the peak only to have turned and faced an army outnumbering ours six to one, shelling us with mortar fire we couldn't return. That's exactly what they did.
A sportsperson's sacrifice, mateship, endurance and courage may be heralded by thousands. They may be rewarded with shining trophies and ticker-tape parades, the kind of acknowledgment that might provide motivation, a justification perhaps, for their sacrifice. Yet our diggers' sacrifice, the greatest a person can give, has been all but lost to our generation - until recently.
As players, staff and friends of the Hawthorn Football Club who completed the track, it was our honour to walk in the shadows of those heroes, the real heroes, and to pass their legend on to others.
Daily video updates of the Hawthorn players' Kokoda trek start today on HawksTV at www.hawthornfc.com.au
Good article from Timmy.
Hawks in tropical jungle
10 December 2007 Herald Sun
Tim Boyle
A THOUSAND nameless graves lie silent in the breeze above Port Moresby, almost as unrecognised in death as they were, standing tall, in the horror of war.
Five day trek: Hawthorn players head to Stanley Rangers in Papua New Guinea. Picture: Hawthorn Football Club
Resting now, together, some 3000 brave Australians, as they were in the face of death 65 years ago. It's a heartbreaking memorial to the soldiers who gave their lives for others, gave everything they knew for us.
Their gravestones, some with names and tributes, many with nothing more than "Soldier of the war 1939-1945. Known unto God" etched into their base, stretch hundreds of metres across the field.
Stopping at one grave, it reads; "Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for a friend."
Gestures such as these and the four pillars at Isurava - mateship, courage, endurance and sacrifice - remained little more than words, until used to describe the sacrifices of these men, and now, just 10 days since arriving in Papua New Guinea, those words are carved not only into the stones of Kokoda, but into the heart and mind of all who have read them.
For the 15 Hawthorn players who made the journey, the physical accomplishment of completing the track leaves us with a heightened sense of what our countrymen endured.
In groups, we carried 20kg sandbags on our shoulders for hours on end, we stumbled and sprawled but finally delivered stretchers from one village to the next, giving ourselves a greater insight into the feats of our brave soldiers.
They toiled tirelessly, through malaria, dysentery, horrendous terrain and the relentless rain of both the tropics and Japanese mortar fire.
We stretched ourselves to exhaustion on day four, carrying a log of 400-odd kilograms through Naoro, over the nine false peaks of the Maguli Range and to the summit, four hours later. Reeling from our effort and hugging each other in the sheer relief of having dropped the tree, it was beyond comprehension to have reached the peak only to have turned and faced an army outnumbering ours six to one, shelling us with mortar fire we couldn't return. That's exactly what they did.
A sportsperson's sacrifice, mateship, endurance and courage may be heralded by thousands. They may be rewarded with shining trophies and ticker-tape parades, the kind of acknowledgment that might provide motivation, a justification perhaps, for their sacrifice. Yet our diggers' sacrifice, the greatest a person can give, has been all but lost to our generation - until recently.
As players, staff and friends of the Hawthorn Football Club who completed the track, it was our honour to walk in the shadows of those heroes, the real heroes, and to pass their legend on to others.
Daily video updates of the Hawthorn players' Kokoda trek start today on HawksTV at www.hawthornfc.com.au
Good article from Timmy.