Australian War Memorial - A Helpful Soldier

by Zic 22nd June 2008, 7:03 am

Australian War Memorial

An elderly man from Gympie , Queensland , visited the Australia War Memorial in Canberra a few years ago. As a World War II Veteran, the visit was almost a pilgrimage for him. He was at the head of the queue when the doors opened at 10am and still wandering around the exhibits in the later afternoon. The life-like dioramas of battle scenes particularly impressed him. It was while studying one of these that the old soldier felt suddenly faint.

He laughs about what happened now, but admits it was distressing at the time. ‘I hadn't had any lunch. I guess that's why I got crook. I felt myself falling, then a strong arm grabbed my left elbow and another caught me round the waist. It was a young soldier in a World War II AIF uniform. He was smiling and said “whoa there”, The next thing I remember is sitting on a bench with two attendants fussing over me. I looked around for the soldier to thank him but he was gone. I said it was lucky the soldier had caught me and the attendants gave me very odd looks. There was no soldier, they said; they had seen me stumble to the bench by myself. ‘I've gone over that event in my mind dozens of time since and I know what I felt and saw'