Identification

Rabaul War Graves Identification History of “Garbled” Report

Letter to the Editor IN July PIM there appeared a report of a mass-grave discovered near Kokopo, and the positive identification of members of the Army and RAAF.

This report is not only erroneous but vicious. Too many relatives are Still awaiting news of the fate of these men, and in all fairness to them, such articles should be checked prior to publication.

How such reports originate can be seen from the following:— A crater made by the Army Bomb Dis posals Unit was photographed by a cer tain man and a garbled story was soon going from one end of Rabaul to the other: a “mass grave” had been un covered containing “bodies” wrapped in “mosquito nets.”

Investigations proved that the “mosquito nets” were marked veal, mutton, shoulder, etc. —the “grave” was an old meat dump and the “mosquito nets” were cheesecloth in which frozen meat had been wrapped.

The operations of the War Graves Com mission raised the question of the men of the AN&MEF (PIM, June). The graves of these men have been the subject of much investigation by a sub-committee specially created for the purpose by the Rabaul Sub-branch of the RSS&AILA.

The cemetery was devastated during the war and all graves records lost. However, all the bodies in the Rabaul cemetery have been disinterred and removed to the Im perial War Graves Cemetery at Bitapaka.

Two who were buried at Kokopo cemetery have been left there in consecrated ground and their graves are being maintained by the Imperial War Graves Commission.

This sub-committee works in the closest liaison with all War Graves authorities, RAAF War Graves, and Army War Graves and has been responsible for the finding of identified bodies.

M. Munro,

For War Graves Sub committee, RSL, Rabaul.

In July, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Kinsey at the Rabaul General Hospital.