Rememberance and Tattoos.....

So we made it – Kokoda was now in the history books and could be checked off the proverbial “bucket list”.  We were now being bused back to Port Moresby from Owers Corner, which by the way had seen much better days.  Not to mention that it was completely overloaded…..I mean we’re talking a bus that should seat 18, taking closer to 30.  My first inkling that it was going to be a scary ride back was that we couldn’t make it up the first hill out of the car park, without 8 or so guys having to jump off the bus as it rolled slowly back down the hill…not a great start.  A news headline flashed before my eyes – “Entire Kokoda Tour group killed after overloaded bus slides off mountain road”.    After a hair-raising ride in the bus, along a highly corrugated and somewhat narrow and ultra hair-pinned road we finally made it to the relative safety of the flat coastal plain that ran back toward Port Moresby

However, there was one more very important stop for us to make before we could call this trip done and that was a visit to the Bomana War Cemetery situated just outside Port Moresby.   The cemetery was set on a beautiful plot of land just off the main highway.   As we disembarked the bus into the heat, the first thing that hit me was the size and scale of the place – so many white marble headstones stretching far off into the distance.   All of Australia’s 3280 servicemen from the New Guinea campaign are in fact interned on this site, which is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves commission



Bomana War Cemetary - Port Moresby - Papua New Guinea

As I slowed walked down the aisles the sheer magnitude of the loss, not only to the Australians but also to the Japanese who they believe lost closer to 25,000 dead was overwhelming.  On more than one occasion I saw brothers interned next to each other; can you imagine being the recipient of not one but two telegrams telling you of the loss of your son or sons?   Such a devastating moment in a parent’s life - it was gut wrenching to even think about  

We sat silently under the shade of a large banyan tree at the north end of the cemetery, feeling the breeze wash over us as we surveyed the scene before us.  Beauty and sadness combined, and for me at least it put our accomplishments into perspective – we’d made it relatively unscathed (apart from the odd blister or two, or the twisted ankle, no-one had died or had been killed, there were no heroics or sacrifice required and there were definitely no telegrams going home to those loved ones we’d left behind for our adventure

Craig and I had often talked about it……   About a week before I was departing for our expedition he brought it up again as we were closing out our conversation on the phone “I’m getting a tattoo after the trip – are you in?”   I had thought about it before, but never in a truly serious way.  Why now I thought?  I’d never been attracted to tattoos before, although one of my brothers (James) has a number, and so do many of my nephews, but the more I thought about it the more it appealed to me in terms of commemorating the journey.   This would be a lasting memory of the trip and the adventure Craig and I had embarked on together for our dads…..what better way to remember  

So two days after we returned to Australia (quite a bit lighter in terms of weight – at least 10 pounds lower than what we started the trip with and sporting a rather dashing beard) we headed to Geelong to get our tattoos at the Inkspot.   Craig had also talked “Ralphy” into getting one as well, but as fate would have it he had to dash off to Melbourne to pick up his wife from the airport so he didn’t end up getting one – mate have you got it yet

My tattooist (LaDean) was the accomplished artist, young but clearly with a god given talent – check out her link.  I had thought about my tattoo quite a bit both before as well as during my trip, I wanted something that would highlight my journey in a powerful way, so when LaDean asked me about what I had in mind I knew exactly what I wanted - the rising sun emblem from the Australian military forces over the words “Kokoda 2011”.   I wanted it on my shoulder so that others could see it and it could serve as a conversation piece for me to tell the story of my adventure.  Craig wanted just the words and year on his calf.   And so it was with this that LaDean began walking me through the process and started outlining it on my right shoulder…..dissatisfied with the first try, she cleaned my shoulder and started again.   I admired her concentration and attention to detail as she finished the outline – it looked great

The tatto

Now for the tricky bit, for the next two hours (no it didn’t hurt – mainly because my shoulder muscle is pretty meaty and not too sensitive) she calmly talked to me as she worked on my shoulder.  Craig was lying down on the bench nearby as he got his calf tattooed.   The skin on the calf is extremely thin….as you can imagine is very sensitive so his hour long tattoo was just a tad more painful than mine…..okay, a lot more painful

What a tumultuous trip – surviving the Kokoda track and now a tattoo, what’s next 

Prologue

I want to thank you for being a part of my adventure; you’ve all been such gracious and wonderfully supportive readers of my blog.  In fact to date I’ve had over 3500 people from all corners of the globe read my blog in the last two months.  I’ve enjoyed it so much I think I’m going to keep writing, I’m sure the topics will be varied and somewhat amusing…..yes, a nice accompaniment to that latte on a Sunday morning - stay tuned

Wishing you all a Happy New Year

TW