Christmas Morning 1942

Chapter 2

After Australian forces counter- attacked and advanced back over the mountains, Australian and American closed on the Japanese beachheads and battled for over two months and sustained heavy casualties trying to take the Japanese position. These were bloody and hard fought battles that eventually resulted in expulsion of the Japanese from the Australian territory of Papua, bringing to an end the first campaign in Papua New Guinea.

Despite the difficulties faced by Australian soldiers, the 'fighting Aussie spirit', as an infantryman Private Ray Bladwin remembered it, was never fare from the surfacs. In many ways Private Bladwin, surving in the south Australian-raised 2/27th, a fact rienformed by his decision to return to the battle after being injured during fighting at Gina. Mr Baldwin recalled the incident:

I was wounded by hand granades in close quarter fighting. I was servely concussed, and do not remember walking to the Popendetta airstrip and being evacuated to a base hospital in Port Moresby. The wounds were not life threatening, but numerous peaces of shrapnel were removed.