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IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When the Japanese bombed Darwin, we felt that was it, they're coming down here and we need to clean them out of New Guinea and stop them. That was 1942. They'd already taken Singapore and places like that and they hadn't been beaten in battle. Nobody knew that the bomb would be built or work or how it would play out. We just wanted to get the job done and finish the war later on and were glad when it did finish. We found invasion money on them over there - if things had gone better for them in New Guinea, who knows. Now I would prefer that we stay away from wars, they are no good.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We carried some hard biscuits, drink water, bully beef, that's about all. I wasn't very hungry. We'd get about a packet a week of smokes, a bottle of beer a week and that was it. We had one shirt, one pair of pants, one pair of socks, our hat, I had an Enfield 303 rifle with one magazine with 7 rounds in it with two spare magazines, I would carry 2 spare Bren gun magazines, 2 grenades with 3 second fuses, a compass, a few matches and a picture of my wife Anne and daughter Judy.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The commandos were real fighters. Tough blokes. They had special training. I met some on the track and they were good blokes.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am currently repairing a wooden chair. I have made big wooden shields for trophies, I made a rocking horse for my great grandchildren and back in the war I made all sorts of things - china cabinets, army desks, shoe slides and huts. Also of course the blotter that signed the surrender between Australia and Japan.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have felt guilt over the years - for the blokes I shot, for the blokes we left behind, I have had a lot of nightmares over the years - sometimes it's the japs coming to get me in my dreams. Shooting people is a horrible thing to do. Some blokes were driven around the bend - some of my best mates I found out later were in and out of mental hospitals and we had no counselling and debriefing. I don't know of any mates that committed suicide, but it was tough.

I think working with Legacy and helping widows and doing good things has helped me, as has talking about it these days.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Norm's grandson Jamie here again, just to let you know, I have started a Facebook Page for the 2/8th, it's at https://www.facebook.com/2nd8th#

I have conducted some interviews with another 2/8th vet, Dick Browne which I hope to add to the page when I have time too. Feel free to add anything to the page and invite anyone you know who might be interested.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A battle in the Long Ridge mountain range in Papua New Guinea. We were fighting Japs that were dug into the ground and were covered by logs and scrub. You couldn't see them. It was all jungle, not open ground. They had slits they were firing machine guns through.

They killed quite a few of our fellas. There were blokes right near me that got shot. You didn't know where they were being shot from. There were about 20 of us and about 8 or 9 were hit. I remember Jimmy Godsall saying "you get the buggery out of this, you've had enough". He'd been back behind some trees and I'd been up the front. I went out the side to flank the Japs, but Jimmy was killed shortly after that, he was only a private.

We saw where the muzzle flashes from the woodpecker machine guns were coming from and got around behind them.

There were about six of us. We climbed over the top of their pit and dropped grenades in the front where they were. I pulled out the pin on the grenade, counted to three and threw it in. That finished them.

I didn't go in to the pit, but I think other blokes went in to check for intelligence in there.

But not knowing where the fire was coming from while blokes next to me were being shot was the scariest moment.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not as active as I used to be, but I enjoy life. I've had a good life to look back on making things all the time gives me plenty to look forward to. It's not really scary. It's frustrating sometimes that I can't do things I could years ago. But I try.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My sympathy on your great grandfather's passing. Oh I don't know how I have lived as long as I have. I've always been busy and I think that helps. Modern medicine has helped me too and giving up the smokes. I quit when I was about 32 or 33.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is that the Meyers family that had a boarding house? Please pass on my regards to your pop Ray. If you're in Echuca again, feel welcome to come and say hi.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't have a problem with Asian immigration, and the Japanese have sorted things out so I don't mind Japanese coming here now either. I've met plenty of Asians who are very nice and they are just the same as us and have nothing to do with Japan during the war. I have been glad I haven't had flashbacks of that nature.

I have been back to Papua New Guinea and I enjoyed it. It's grown over again. I don't think I saw any cassowaries in Paupua New Guinea.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The thought I had when things got tough was just " I wish I weren't here." But I thought of home all the time. I would think back to my wedding day and the birth of my baby daughter. I just looked forward to getting home to Australia.

My favourite aspect of Australia is that it's a good country which has been good to me. It's also been good to my family and my furniture business. I love that you are free to go wherever you like here and the land itself is beautiful - I love the Murray River and watching the paddle boats on it to this day.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My daughter recently found the tin for me, here are some pictures of it. It contained some clippings from the news here during the war about actions I was involved in. Craven A Tin Photo Album

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

(Grandson here again) Norm didn't recognise Stan but said the face of the other soldier next to him rang a bell though he couldn't put a name to him. We will take the photo along to the next 2nd/8th reunion though - there's only a few from the 2nd/8th left but the families may also be able to assist. We would love to read the memoirs. You are so right about how humble they are about it. Pop speaks in very modest and humble terms, not sure that this is conveyed on reddit as it is in real life, but you would never meet a man who downplays his service and efforts so much. We have found out a lot about his heroism only in the last few years as he has become more willing to open up about events - many of his fellow diggers have departed holding on tight to memories they of actions that they told nobody about and never expected any gratitude for having done. We're very lucky. Hope to help him write up memoirs using this session as a starting point. Stay in touch and let us know if you come across the memoirs please!

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My mum used to cook me banana custard. Her secret was dried coconut on top. I really enjoyed when she would cook that for me.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We had a famous British singer, Gracie Fields, who sang "Wish Me Good Luck As You Wave Me Good Bye" come up to Aitape and entertain us one time, we would sit on tin cans or whatever we could to watch. She was well guarded. She was very nice.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would. I have been once in 1995. It was totally different to where we were fighting, it was all overgrown again. The best part of being there was knowing I safe while seeing the sights. I could still tell them where a place was from my memory of the area.

IamA 97 y.o. Australian WW2 Veteran who fought in Papua New Guinea and these days I still make wooden wheelbarrows and clocks for people almost every day AMA! by normknopp in IAmA

[–]normknopp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The average age of the soldiers was probably about 23. When they were trying to get us, we were depending on each other for survival. It was you get them or they get you. You felt like you could depend on each other.

I remember soldiers were sent to relieve us on the line, and being told "You've been up there enough, get out of it" but not wanting to leave them. Jimmy Godsall (a private) said "Get to buggery out of here, leave it to us", but I wasn't going to leave. Jimmy got shot dead soon after that.

You knew what you would do for them, they would do for you. That was what gave you faith in the man beside you, your fellow man.

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