Fuzzy wuzzy angels
Encyclopedia
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
troops to a group of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
n people who, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, assisted and escorted injured Australian troops down the Kokoda trail. "Fuzzy Wuzzy
Fuzzy Wuzzy
Fuzzy-Wuzzy can refer to:* Hadendoa, an East African tribe* Fuzzy-Wuzzy, a poem by Rudyard Kipling* Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, the name given Papua New Guineans who assisted injured Australian troops during World War II...
" was originally used by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soldiers in the 19th century as a name for Hadendoa
Hadendoa
Hadendoa is the name of a nomadic subdivision of the Beja people. Other Beja tribes include the Bisharin and Ababda. The area inhabited by the Hadendoa is today parts of Sudan, Egypt and Eritrea.-Overview:...
warriors on the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
coast of the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, and referred to their elaborate butter-matted hairstyles. The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels were named for both their frizzy hair and helpful role.
In the year 1942, during the Pacific invasion, the Japanese had built up a force of 13,500 in the Gona region of Papua with the intention of invading Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
. The key to the offensive was an overland track across the Owen Stanley Ranges. The track ranged from the small village of Buna on the north coast of Papua
Papua (Australian territory)
The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1949. It became a British Protectorate in the year 1884, and four years later it was formally annexed as British New Guinea...
and went up the slopes through Gorari and Oivi to Kokoda. The track was approximately 100 miles (160.9 km) long, folded into a series of ridges, rising higher and to 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) and then declining again to 3000 feet (914.4 m). It was covered in thick jungle, short trees and tall trees tangled with vines.
On 29 August 1942, the Japanese task force broke through the Australian line forcing the Australians to retreat further back to Templeton's Crossing. Eventually, the Australians were forced to retreat to Myola.
4000 Australian lives were lost in the campaign. It is speculated that this number would have been much larger had it not been for the help of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. As one Australian digger
Digger (soldier)
Digger is an Australian and New Zealand military slang term for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. It originated during World War I.- Origin :...
has noted:
- “They carried stretchers over seemingly impassable barriers, with the patient reasonably comfortable. The care they give to the patient is magnificent. If night finds the stretcher still on the track, they will find a level spot and build a shelter over the patient. They will make him as comfortable as possible fetch him water and feed him if food is available, regardless of their own needs. They sleep four each side of the stretcher and if the patient moves or requires any attention during the night, this is given instantly. These were the deeds of the ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’ – for us!”
No known injured soldier that was still alive was ever abandoned by the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, even during heavy combat. As of Anzac Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
2007, only three of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels were still alive. In July 2007, grandsons of Australian World War II soldiers and grandsons of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels took part in the "Kokoda Challenge".http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200704/s1906187.htm
Official recognition
In June 2008, Australian senator Guy BarnettGuy Barnett (Australian politician)
Guy Barnett , has been a Liberal Party member of the Australian Senate since February 2002, representing the state of Tasmania. He was born in Launceston, Tasmania, and was educated at the University of Tasmania. He was a lawyer before entering politics...
called for his country's Parliament to give official recognition to Papua New Guineans' courage and contributions to the war effort.
- "I was stunned to learn that Australia has not officially recognised these wonderful PNG nationals who saved the lives of Australian servicemen. They carried stretchers, stores and sometimes wounded diggers directly on their shoulders over some of the toughest terrain in the world. Without them I think the Kokoda campaign would have been far more difficult than it was."
The government agreed to consider the motion. Recognition may entail a medal, a small ex gratia
Ex gratia
Ex gratia is Latin for "by favour", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ex gratia, it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace...
payment, and additional Australian aid to improve people's education and health in villages near the Kokoda track.
Claims of execution and torture by Australian Army
According to Australian government records and PNG citizens who survived World War II, the Australian Army occasionally coerced and intimidated the local people into compliance.A video report by the Australian Broadcasting Commission's Foreign Correspondent TV programme entitled "PNG Digger Hangings" claims execution and torture were used to control villages unsupportive of the Australian Army. The report claims the Army deceived the Australian Government inquiry that followed the executions, grossly understating the number of executions carried out by the Australian Army.
Backed by experts, such as Professor Hank Nelson (an eminent historian on the Second World War in PNG), reporter Trevor Bormann stated: "When [Australia's] Federal Cabinet was told of the hangings, it put a stop to them and directed that another fifty Papuans on death row should not face the noose.... Then in their explanation of what happened, field commanders fudged the figures on the number of men who had already been hanged."
According to historian Maclaren Hiari, the victims and families of victims do not want compensation. They only want "acknowledgement or any kind of apology to the people."
Bert Beros poem
A famous poem by SapperSapper
A sapper, pioneer or combat engineer is a combatant soldier who performs a wide variety of combat engineering duties, typically including, but not limited to, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences, general construction and building, as well as road and airfield...
Bert Beros which illustrates the effort shown by the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels:
The Fuzzy Wuzzies
- Many a mother in Australia
- when the busy day is done,
- Sends a prayer to the Almighty
- for the keeping of her son;
- Asking that an Angel guide him
- and bring him safely back -
- Now we see those prayers are answered
- on the Owen Stanley track.
- For they haven't any haloes
- only holes slashed through the ear
- And their faces worked by tattoos
- with scratch pins in their hair:
- Bringing back the badly wounded
- just as steady as a horse,
- Using leaves to keep the rain off
- and as gentle as a nurse
- Slow and careful in bad places
- on the awful mountain track
- The look upon their faces
- Would make you think that Christ was black
- Not a move to hurt the wounded
- as they treat him like a saint
- It's a picture worth recording
- that an artist's yet to paint
- Many a lad will see his mother
- and husbands see their wives
- Just because the fuzzy wuzzy
- carried them to save their lives
- From mortar bombs and machine gun fire
- or chance surprise attacks
- To the safety and the care of doctors
- at the bottom of the track
- May the mothers of Australia
- when they offer up a prayer.
- Mention these impromptu angels
- with their fuzzy wuzzy hair