Letter From A War Hero

Solomon Islands best-known war hero is Sergeant-major Jacob Charles Vouza, GM, MBE, now nearly 80 years

old. During independence

celebrations the spotlight fell on the sergeant-major, with Pacific War veterans, return ing from all over, eager to shake his hand.

With the celebrations over.

Sergeant-major Vouza

penned a letter to his old

friend, one A 1 Bonney, from

his home in California Vil lage, West Tasilsoko District on Guadalcanal. We repro duce the hero’s letter: Dear my friend AI Bonney This is a great pleasure for me now in having this wonderful opportunity in writing to you now. Well, in writing now, I just like to say thank you very much for coming over and attending our greatest day in

the history of our peaceful

nation, that is the indepen

dence day.

Well, mostly I would like to

say thank you as well for taking me over to the American warships to attend the party in them and I wish to say that I really enjoyed the visit to the warships and I really enjoyed seeing and talk ing with you. I was really pleased in meeting you as well.

Well I hope you'd be very glad to know what’s going on here in our country after this independence. Well nothing unusual happened and every thing is running on smoothly and I wish if only our country could continue in the same manner always but keep on growing and improving. My health is still going on well.

During the celebrations an American who was a Los

Angeles Times staff writer

came over to my home here and interviewed me.

I told him my story and I also claimed to him that if the Solomons is in trouble after independence, I’d like to have

help from the United States of for now. Goodbye. God bless A merica. you.

Well that's all I could say Sgt-Major Jacob Vouza

Sgt-major Vouza ... letter to an old friend