The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) as part of commemorating National Remembrance Day this weekend, will be holding a Dawn Service at the Murray Barracks in Port Moresby to remember the fallen during times of conflicts and domestic duties.
According to the PNGDF, the commemorative service will be in two parts, the first being the Dawn Service and the second part will be the main National Remembrance Day Service at the Ela Beach Remembrance Park.
The Dawn Service at Murray Barracks will be conducted to commemorate Papua New Guineans who have bravely lost their lives in military operations and during the campaigns around the country dating back to the second World War in 1942 and the Bougainville Crisis in 1989.
The service at the Ela Beach Remembrance Park will be coordinated by the National Events Secretariat (NES) and the Department of Prime Minister.
The second part of the commemorative service will be hosted by the Chief of Defence (CDF) Major General Mark Goina and reviewed by the Governor General of Papua New Guinea H.E Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae.
The National Remembrance Day will fall on Sunday the 23rd of July. The date is significant because it was on July 23rd, 1942, that a small number of soldiers from the PNG infantry battalion supported Allied forces in attacking a forward party of Japanese troops at Awala in the Kokoda region.
This was a historic landmark in the country’s history as it was the first time PNG soldiers had engaged in battle on native soil.
It is for this fact that the date has become a focal point for this memorial day intended to remember the members of the PNG armed forces who have died on duty in the first world war, the second world war, and subsequent peacekeeping and law and order engagements within PNG and abroad.