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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001152A
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00:29 I'm standing on what is considered sacred ground 00:32 by many Australians. This is the village of Kokoda on the 00:38 northern slopes of the Owen Stanley mountain range in 00:41 Papua New Guinea. The name Kokoda is significant to 00:46 Australia because many Australians fought and died here 00:49 in World War II. This village gave its name to a track that 00:54 snakes its way for about 100 km south from here to Ower's 00:59 corner near Port Moresby the capital of Papua New Guinea. The 01:04 Kokoda track or trail is a narrow precarious path that 01:10 winds through some of the most inhospitable and isolated 01:13 terrain on earth. It crosses high rugged mountains, drops 01:17 down into deep valleys and passes through fast flowing 01:21 rivers. It cuts through dense jungle that's infested with 01:26 snakes, leeches, mosquitoes and other nasty bloodsucking insects 01:29 The track is often drenched by tropical storms that make it wet 01:35 muddy, slippery and dangerous. It's really hard going. The 01:40 steep gradients are demanding and exhausting. It was on the 01:47 Kokoda track under hellish conditions that a small force of 01:51 young, ill-equipped and under- trained Australians held off the 01:54 Japanese army and stopped it from advancing along the track 01:58 towards mainland Australia. The fighting was desperate and 02:04 vicious. The Australian troops were wounded and exhausted 02:08 beyond belief. But somehow they always managed to find that 02:13 extra bit of spirit to fight on with the help of angels, angels 02:19 with black faces and frizzy hear local people that they 02:23 affectionately called fuzzy wuzzy angels because of their 02:27 compassion, care and dedication. Their story will surprise you 02:33 and inspire you. 02:36 ♪ ♪ 02:48 (gunfire) 02:54 War came to the Pacific in December 1941. The Japanese 02:58 attacked Pearl Harbor, invaded the Malay peninsula and bombed 03:04 Singapore. After capturing Singapore in February 1942, 03:08 they next planned to advance southeast and capture Port 03:12 Moresby with a seaborne attack using their navy. However their 03:18 plans were disrupted when the American naval victories in the 03:22 Battle of the Coral Sea in May and in Midway in early June 03:26 broke the dominance of the Japanese navy in the Pacific. 03:30 But this setback didn't change Japan's plans. Their goal was 03:36 still to establish a stronghold in Port Moresby and if they 03:40 couldn't do it through their navy then they'd do it through 03:44 their army by marching overland along the Kokoda track and 03:49 across the Owen Stanley ranges from here the northern shore of 03:53 Papua New Guinea. On the 21st of July 1942 Japanese troops 03:59 landed here in the Gona Sanananda area and established a 04:04 beachhead. A full scale offensive was soon underway as 04:08 they moved south towards Port Moresby. The Kokoda campaign 04:13 had begun. It consisted of a series of fierce battles fought 04:24 along the Kokoda track over four months between July and November 04:30 1942. The Australians were determined to stop the Japanese 04:34 advance along the track and prevent them from establishing 04:38 a base in Port Moresby that would threaten Australia and 04:42 leave it isolated and vulnerable Kokoda was the defining battle 04:48 for Australia and perhaps the most significant campaign fought 04:52 by Australians in World War II. More Australians died in the 04:56 months fighting in Papua New Guinea than in any other 05:01 campaign of the war. Conditions along the track were horrific. 05:08 The terrain was steep and inhospitable, the rain was 05:11 constant, the track was muddy, slippery and treacherous. Food 05:16 and ammunition supplies were practically nonexistent. The 05:21 Australian troops were young, inexperienced and poorly 05:25 equipped and they constantly battled malaria and dysentery as 05:30 well as the Japanese. Australia's 39th battalion along 05:34 with elements of the Papuan infantry battalion were the 05:38 first to engage the advancing Japanese in a series of short 05:43 but critical encounters. They were part of the so-called 05:47 Maroubra force. The 39th battalion was under strength 05:51 consisting of only around 600 men and many of them were 18 05:56 and 19-year-olds who were involved in battle for the very 06:00 first time. The Japanese advanced southwards into the 06:06 foothills of the Owen Stanley mountain range and after a 06:09 fierce battle against an Australian force that was out 06:13 numbered, outgunned, and out equipped, they captured the 06:17 village of Kokoda along with its strategically vital airfield. 06:21 From Kokoda, the Australians fell into a long fighting withdrawal 06:26 along the track across the Owen Stanley range. They were 06:31 determined to resist the Japanese advance as much as 06:35 possible, ambushing, delaying, counter attacking and 06:41 frustrating the enemy as best they could. There were major 06:43 battles at Isuarava, Fisher Ridge and Brigade Hill. But the 06:48 Japanese juggernaut continued its relentless advance 06:53 southwards toward Port Moresby. A desperately tired but 06:56 determined Australian forces kept continually defending, 07:00 retreating and counter-attacking until they came to Imater Ridge. 07:06 Here, with Port Moresby virtually insight, the 07:11 Australians dug in to make a final stand. This ridge was the 07:16 last natural defensive position before defeat. There was nowhere 07:21 else to go. The time had come. The moment of destiny had 07:27 arrived. The Japanese held the opposite ridge at Deoebama. This 07:33 was the final showdown. But now the tables had turned. The 07:39 Japanese were at the end of a long desperately tiring march. 07:43 Their supply lines were stretched to the limit. They 07:48 were exhausted and the Australians had one last-ditch 07:54 surprise for the Japanese. They had laboriously dragged 25 07:59 powder guns up from Port Moresby and suddenly they opened fire on 08:04 the Japanese positions. That was the turning point of the Kokoda 08:10 campaign. The Australian shelling smashed the Japanese 08:16 barricades. Ioribaiwa was as far as the Japanese advanced. From 08:21 that time on the Japanese began a long retreat back along the 08:26 track to Kokoda and back to the sea with the Australians 08:31 pursuing them and attacking them the whole time. Now it was the 08:37 turn of the Japanese to experience what the Australians 08:40 had put up with during the proceeding months. 08:44 The Australians drove the Japanese back to Gona and 08:47 Sanananda and the northern shore of Papua New Guinea and by the 08:51 22nd of January 1943 all organized resistance by the 08:57 Japanese in Papua New Guinea had ceased. In the fierce and 09:03 desperate battles along the Kokoda track more than 600 09:08 Australians were killed and 1600 wounded with a further 4000 09:13 casualties due to sickness and disease. But those figures would 09:19 have been a lot higher and the outcome of the Kokoda campaign 09:22 far different if it were not for the help of the local people who 09:27 the Australians affectionately referred to as fuzzy wuzzy 09:32 angels. During those grueling days of the Kokoda campaign 09:35 thousands of local natives from along the track and further 09:40 afield were employed as carriers or porters. They 09:45 carried food, weapons, ammunition, equipment, supplies 09:49 and medicines, in fact all that was required for the war effort 09:52 forward along the track to the front lines. They walked long 09:57 distances with heavy loads and then these brave and selfless 10:02 men would turn around and carry the increasing number of sick 10:07 and wounded back through the mud to safety using stretchers or 10:12 supporting and guiding those who could walk. These fuzzy wuzzy 10:16 angels were named for both their frizzy hair and their kind 10:20 helpful role. But they hadn't always had a caring and 10:24 compassionate reputation. Most of the fuzzy wuzzy angels 10:29 belonged to the Koiari tribe who lived in the villages along 10:32 the Kokoda track. Traditionally the Koiari were a hostile and 10:38 warlike people who had a reputation for bloodshed and 10:41 violence. They were feared by the neighboring tribes. But 10:46 early in the 20th century an amazing transformation took 10:51 place. In 1908, the first Christian missionaries moved 10:58 into the Koiari area and established the Bisiatabu 11:02 mission station near the entrance to the Kokoda track. 11:05 Under the leadership of Septimus Carr, they built schools and 11:09 taught the people to read and write. They built medical 11:13 clinics shared the principles of health, hygiene, and clean 11:19 living. They built churches where the Christian message of 11:22 grace, commandment-keeping, temperance, peace, and compassion 11:26 was preached. Then in 1924 pioneer Seventh-day Adventist 11:33 missionary William Lock and his family moved inland along the 11:37 Kokoda track to the village of Efogi. There they set up a 11:41 clinic and a mission school and soon the Christian message of 11:45 peace and kindness spread throughout the region and was 11:49 embraced by the other villages along the Kokoda track. The 11:54 people had been transformed. Bloodshed and violence was 11:59 replaced by peace and kindness. When the war came to the Kokoda 12:04 track villages in 1942 the changes that Christianity had 12:09 made to the people's lives came through. The war had a 12:14 devastating effect on the local people. Their villages were 12:18 bombed, their homes burned, their gardens destroyed, their 12:22 livestock shot. They were displaced, yet through 12:26 it all they remained faithful to the Christian message of peace 12:30 and compassion and loyal to the people who shared it with them. 12:35 Historian Alan Smith highlights this: 13:00 This view is confirmed by the descendants of the fuzzy wuzzy 13:04 angels today. Many of them continue their family tradition 13:08 of carrying supplies for Australians along the Kokoda 13:13 track, only now it's for the thousands of tourists who walk 13:17 the track each year. 13:20 ♪natives singing♪ 13:32 My grandfather was the fuzzy wuzzy angel who helped the 13:37 Australians carry their food stuffs and their wounded people 13:41 to the nearest clinic hospital to be treated. 13:45 When the missionaries 13:46 first came into Papua New Guinea they started schools so that we 13:49 can know how to read and write. And they also taught us how to 13:53 live a better life. And then they also teach us how to live 13:58 and help each other like Jesus. So when they saw the wounded 14:01 they wanted to be like Jesus so when they needed to help the 14:04 wounded out of the jungles to hospital. 14:09 My name is Peter Iga and I've been working with Koiari people 14:14 and working for the Koiari people most of my life. When the 14:18 war came they had been Christians for some time now and 14:20 therefore they wanted to show their kind of love that they 14:24 heard about Jesus from the missionaries. 14:26 The local people's positive attitude, respect and loyalty 14:32 toward the Australian missionaries was transferred to 14:35 the Australian troops. The Christian Koiari villages along 14:40 the Kokoda track saw the Australians as neighbors and 14:44 natural allies and volunteered for the allied cause. This is 14:50 demonstrated by a report by Robin McKary, an Australian 14:53 commander in this region. He said this: 15:41 This loyalty was also experienced by 15:44 Lieutenant R.W. MclIRay. He was in a group of five Australian 15:49 soldiers that was cut off behind enemy lines here in the Menari 15:53 village while out on patrol. They were in serious danger but 15:58 were found and guided to safety by local Christian villagers 16:02 from Menari. Soon after their rescue Lt. MclIRay wrote a letter 16:08 of appreciation: 16:45 The positive influence of the Australian Christian missionary 16:47 and the Lock family in particular is one of the major 16:52 reasons the Australian forces managed to get so many local 16:57 native carriers in such a short space of time and 16:59 why the carriers 17:01 worked so hard for so long in such atrocious conditions. 17:07 In this terrible war without mercy fought back and forth 17:11 along kilometers of mountains, jungles and river crossings with 17:16 the Australian soldiers wracked by hunger and disease and 17:20 terrified of falling into enemy hands, the local people, the 17:26 carriers rose up and reached out to them with raw compassion and 17:31 care. They were heroes who showed selflessness and courage 17:35 in times of fear and hardship. And in particular they displayed 17:41 remarkable kindness and care assisting wounded and sick 17:45 Australian soldiers through the mud to safety. The fuzzy wuzzy 17:53 angles gained a reputation for dedication, gentleness and 17:58 bravery that inspired Australian soldiers to send home poems and 18:04 reports of the help along the muddy and treacherous track 18:07 over the Owen Stanley Range. One of the most famous was a poem 18:12 written by an Australian combat engineer Bert Buras called 18:18 Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels: 19:32 It's not surprising that when a mother back in Australia read 19:36 these words, she was moved to write this touching response to 19:40 the challenge in the poem: 20:48 Another Australian soldier at the time expressed his gratitude 20:52 to the fuzzy wuzzy angels this way: 21:15 Captain John Carthy agreed with these sentiments of 21:19 gratitude. He said: 21:31 Paul Keating, the former prime minister of Australia recognized 21:36 the vital role of the fuzzy wuzzy angels. At the 50th 21:39 anniversary of the Kokoda campaign, he said: 22:16 Yes, the fuzzy wuzzy angels became endeared to the 22:23 Australian people because of their gentleness, kindness and 22:26 care that they showed to sick and wounded Australians as they 22:29 carried them to safety along the muddy and treacherous Kokoda 22:33 track. But they weren't always like that. Not long before they 22:39 were a warlike, blood thirsty people. What changed them? What 22:44 was it that turned violent warriors into fuzzy wuzzy angels 22:49 of mercy. It was the Bible and the message of Jesus. They found 22:54 joy and fulfillment in accepting Jesus and following his 22:59 teachings. The transformation of individuals and tribes can be 23:04 attributed to the Bible and one man, Jesus Christ. They were 23:09 changed when they met Jesus Christ and let him guide their 23:13 lives. Christianity and its message is still relevant today 23:18 and the Bible and it's message still changes people today. 23:23 That's why the Bible is called the Living Word of God. It 23:28 carries an amazing power with it wherever it goes, a power that 23:33 changes lives, transforms character, gives strength to the 23:37 weak, courage to the depressed and hope to the dying. No one 23:43 can read the Bible faithfully every day without God's book 23:48 changing them and if you spend time each day reading the Bible 23:51 it will change you too. Jesus spent his time changing people. 23:58 That's the heart of the Christian religion and it's the 24:01 heart of the Bible, the secret of its power. Jesus knew what 24:06 power it was that changed people Listen to what he said in 24:11 John chapter 8 and verse 32: 24:21 It's truth that sets people free that changes people. It's the 24:26 truth that makes a drunkard a sober and loving father. It's 24:30 truth that frees the drug abuser. It's the truth that 24:35 transforms tempers and gives integrity and purpose in life. 24:39 Millions of lives have been changed as people have studied 24:45 the Bible. No greater power exists in the world to touch 24:48 hearts and change lives. If you'd like to experience the joy 24:53 and fulfillment that comes from accepting Jesus and following 24:57 his teachings why not invite him into your life today as we pray? 25:03 Our dear heavenly Father, thank you for your word, the Bible. We 25:10 want to experience the power, the life changing power that's 25:14 in the Bible. We'd like you to begin changing us today and 25:19 every day from now on. We want to surrender our lives to you. 25:23 We want to learn to live our lives in your love and be filled 25:28 with your love and compassion. Help us to accept others just as 25:33 you've accepted us. Help us to love others unconditionally just 25:39 as you loved us. Help us to forgive others totally just as 25:44 you've forgiven us. Help us to value others as much as you 25:49 value us. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. 25:56 If you'd like to get closer to God, live a better life and find 26:00 true peace and happiness then I'd like to recommend a free 26:04 gift we have for all our viewers today. It's the book Secrets of 26:11 True Greatness. This book is our gift to you and is absolutely 26:15 free. There are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:19 Thousands have been blessed and inspired by this book, Secrets 26:24 of True Greatness. So make the most of this wonderful 26:28 opportunity to receive the gift we have for you today. Here's 26:33 the information you need: Phone or text us at 0436333555 in 26:42 Australia or 0204222042 in New Zealand or visit our website 26:50 www.tij.tv to request today's free offer and we'll send it to 26:57 you totally free of charge and with no obligation. 27:02 Write to us at: 27:21 Don't delay. Call or text us now 27:24 If you've enjoyed today's journey to Papua New Guinea and 27:29 along the Kokoda track and our reflections on the Bible and its 27:35 power to change lives for the better and bring joy and 27:39 happiness, be sure to join us again next week. Until then 27:42 remember the ultimate destination of life's journey. 27:46 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. And God will wipe away 27:51 every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death 27:54 nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the 27:58 former things have passed away. 28:01 ♪men's chorus singing♪ |
Revised 2021-02-08