David Graham

My Uncle David Graham was Killed on the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea when a Japanese Soldier threw a Hand Grenade that landed in Uncle Dave's open Shirt during a Close encounter on the Kokoda Trail when the "Diggers" were trying to stop them from Advancing across the Papua New Guinea Highlands.

From Letters that my Grand Mother read to the rest of my Dads family, Uncle David mentioned that most of his Battalion Trained with Sticks instead of Guns as the Australian Army supply of Guns was very poor.

In one letter Uncle David wrote from the Kokoda Trail, he mentioned that the Troops without Rifles had to remain behind the Soldiers on the Front Line until the Front Line Soldiers were Killed or Wounded. This was when the Soldiers without Rifles / Pistols would move up to the fighting Troops & pick up the Guns from the Dead & Wounded Diggers.

Lest we forget.