SPEECH BY STUDENT Katherine Cooper

Memorial adoption Ceremony 12/5/1998

On the 18th April this year I was lucky enough to go on the “Quiet Lion Tour to Thailand. I was one of around twenty teenagers chosen from across W.A and Victoria to go on the ten day Tour that incorporated visiting Tourist sights in Thailand, but more importantly, showed where Prisoners of the second World War had lived and what happened to them, in particularly the Memorial at Hellfire Pass. What made this trip so educational and all over amazing was the fact that along with us kids were also War Veterans and relatives of people who fought in the war on the trip. The Ex POWs were especially remarkable people, and I learnt a lot about the horrific treatment of POWs from them.

I already had a basic awareness of what these men went through, but I never thought I could learn much more by actually interacting with the war veterans. Not only were we able to talk one to one about the experience of war, but we could also see how these people reacted to the places where they had fought so hard to survive each day. The look on one man’s face taught me so much more than any book could. I was there with the survivors and could only imagine what they were thinking as they saw where their mates had fought, or died some fifty years before. Time could not change the way these men felt, and it will never change the way I feel about how these men lived and suffered for all Australians living today.

I learnt how prisoners of war lived and worked and saw the places they struggled to survive in. I began to gain a much better understanding of what these people went through and the sacrifices they made for the sake of others were also clear. I could never really comprehend the stories I heard about prisoners of war until I met the survivors, and I now know so much more about what the prisoners of war had to endure Talking to these men personally also showed me the effect war has on people as individuals. Each person had a different story to tell, some funny some unbelievably horrific, but whatever the tale each, each taught me some thing about the war and life in general. During my ten day trip I gained more than I could have ever hoped for,. From interacting with and getting to know people who lived during the 2nd world war, especially Ex POWs. I found out how the experience of war really effected them. I now know how much these people really did for the sake of my generation living in Australia, and the many more still to come. We live in this amazing country because of their willingness to fight, survive and even die for us. We owe these men our lives and freedom, which I think we often forget, but we must remember this and ensure that their memories are not lost as they eventually pass on.

The QUIET LION Tour changed my life and the way I looked towards the value of life forever. The image of one man’s face will stay with me forever as he saw where some of his closest friends died after surviving for so long. Thanks to the veterans sharing their stories with people like me, their memories will live on, as they should, so we can never forget about the experiences these people endured during the war.

Thanks to this I have gained an understanding and insight into what prisoners of war went through during the 2nd world war, which will stay with me forever. I would like to take this oportunity to say thank you to every one who helped me to get to Thailand, especially the Ex POWs Association of West Australia w ho sponsored me. You gave me more than you will ever know.

Thank You!