East Timor tour follow's WW2 commandos footsteps
Updated
An East Timor trek to commemorate the experiences of Australia's World War 2 commando forces and the role locals played has just been completed.
Reporting from East Timor, Radio Australia's Christine Webster says unlike the similar assistance given to troops by locals in PNG, the role of the East Timorese in Australia's World War 2 history has almost been forgotten.
Yvonne Walsh, whose late husband, Vince Walsh, was an Australian commando who served in East Timor, has just completed the inaugural Sparrow Force Trek.
She says the Australian commandos who served in East Timor are grateful to the East Timorese, but also wish they hadn't been dragged into the war.
"Their story is one of great regret, because they actually compromised the whole of Portuguese Timor, and brought the whole of the devastation of war, and all the issues of compromising neutrality and requiring support and sustenance from the land," she said.
The Inaugural Sparrow Force Trek aims to recognise the role the Australian army played in East Timor and how the locals protected them from the Japanese troops.
The trek took around 10 days to complete, travelling to Mount Ramelau, Betano and Same, before finishing in Dili.
One of the participants, Australian Dianne Bush, says the trek gave her a deeper understanding of Australia's WW2 history.
"The story that unfolded as I went...I began to get a greater depth and understanding of just what this group of men had undertaken," she said.
Yvonne Walsh says she would like to see the trek become a more regular event, but remains undecided on its future as a popular tourist attraction similar to PNG's Kokoda Track.
