American reacts to 'The Bombing of Darwin' 

Ryan, you should check out the first time the Japanese were defeated in a land battle, it was in New Guinea by the Australians.

Thank you for being an American wanting to learn about the world.

The ‘panic’ was that Singapore had surrendered 4 days before the first attacks on Darwin, with the surrender of 130,000 British, Indian and Australian troops. Japan at this point seemed unstoppable.

Australia was very heavily involved in the war in the Pacific. It was so close to home. Probably most Australians have grandparents who fought in Asia or the Pacific. Everyone had a role as it was so close. My grandfather and my great uncle fought in New Guinea and on the Pacific islands. When we studied WWII in History in high school (1989 for me) there were lots of original photos and memorabilia that came in with students and teachers. There were a huge number of Australians tortured and killed by the Japanese in their prison camps and death marches. The Sandakan March is a good example of the horrors of the War in the Pacific. Remember, the Japanese didn't sign on to the Geneva Convention so there was a massive difference in treatment of prisoners in Europe and the Pacific.

Ryan, another fact that you may not be aware of is that there were 2 Japanese mini submarines made it into Sydney Harbour during WW2. You may also like to do some research on the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels (Papua New Guineans) who assisted the Australians during the war.

Please watch more about Australian history. You’re starting to learn more than most Aussies know themselves… which I think is just great

My grandfather was in Darwin during the bombings and he was rescuing people from the danger, he did what he had to do during the Darwin bombings...

For such a small city, Darwin has a fascinating history.

The military presence in Darwin is so full on, I felt like I was in a war zone when I lived there. Truly amazing history that runs into the present.

As a Grandson, Son and Nephew of WW1 and WW2 veterans I am always grateful to all the young Americans and Australians who died defending Australia. A lot of Australians don't even know about the Battle of The Coral Sea which was fought off the North Queensland Coast or that Japanese Subs got into Sydney Harbour. A big thankyou to the USA.

AA gunners were anti aircraft gunners. My father fought against the Japanese in New Guinea and was an AA gunner defending airfields against Japanese attacks. Australian forces inflicted the first defeat on Japanese forces in WW2 and stopped their southern advance in New Guinea.

I think it's a shame that more people don't realise what happened to Darwin.. All the emphasis seems to be about Pearl Harbour. A good film to watch, which gives some idea of what happened in Darwin is "Australia" by Baz Lurhmann. It was the first film I had ever seen that showed what happened....

I lived in New Guinea back during the time of their independence. 1976. The ppl there have a massive respect for Aussie soldiers. (The military cemeteries are the best kept i have ever seen.) The locals played very big role in helping the Aussie soldiers while they were fighting the Japanese there. (It's not an easy place to navigate ) I have been told that the Japanese hold the Aussie soldiers in very high regard after battling them.

Anyone heard of the 'Naked Gunner'? My grandfather (who was handing ammo to the AA guns) told me of a digger who was in a shower at the time of the raid (at the aerodrome) and just ran out with a towel on, which fell off pretty quick, and jumped on the AA gun naked and fought that way. Legend

As an Aussie, I was taught about the bombing of Darwin at school but I had no idea about other attacks, especially Cairns and Townsville which are towns in Northern Queensland.., Ryan, you, as an American, taught me more about Aussie WW2 history!!!!!

My next door neighbour (who lived to be 98) was a ‘Rat of Tobruk’ as an anti aircraft gunner - whilst most of the ‘Rats’ redeployed to the Kokoda campaign, his battery was redeployed to Darwin. He said his war in Darwin was much harsher and more frightening than anything he ever experienced in the much more famous Tobruk campaign.

The entire Northern Coast from Broome to Townsville was bombarded over 2 years. It was relentless and everywhere there were more than two buildings, the bombers attacked. It was covered up to stop resentment against sending all of our troops and armaments overseas... they didn't want the troops in the European and African Theatres to know that their country had been attacked while they were fighting in foreign countries. The agreement between Menzies and Churchil was that Australia was allowed to be sacrificed, that Australian troops were notto be released to fight at home until after the Eurpean and then the African Theatres were won. Almost every eligible adult man had volunteered to fight for Europe Which is why the new PM Curtain had to introduce conscription of 18 year olds who with thd US Pacific fleet, New Zealand, defended our region against the Japanese. Churhill didn"t even want that to happen. He tried to get USA to sign a treaty to pledge the entire US military to the European Theatre. Churchill said they might after the European and African campaigns were won, pledge British troops to try to regain Australia from the Japanese. Thank goodness PM Menzies was votes out of office in time to organise defence of Australia, because those otger two had given up before it even began to affect Australia. The greatest crime in all of this is that our Asian neighbours we shoukd have been helping defend were quickly and thoroughly overrun and they suffered many casualties, loss of life and years of disruption, PTSD, comfort women, rapes, plunder. Churchill was not a hero to Australia.

My grandfather was part of an army artillery unit in Darwin when it was bombed. My other grandfather was a civilian ferry skipper on Sydney harbour, he was coming back into dock and they had to scream at him to kill his lights because there was Japanese submarines in the harbour. And my fathers earliest memory is waking up to find all hi neighbours in their house in Sydney, they had come over because they could hear the shelling and theirs was the only brick house on the street. Finally don’t forget that New Guinea was an Australian territory until 1975 and there was a lot of fighting there.

My mother was at boarding school on the coast of Queensland and that school was evacuated to an outback town called Barcaldine. As a safety precaution. Not many people know there was a thing called the “Brisbane line” that was an imaginary line from Brisbane across the continent that the government were prepared to give north of that line if invaded.

On the 15th Feb, 1942, four days before the 1st attack on Darwin, an American Army pilot, Lt. Robert J. Buel, flying a P-40, sortied north west out of Darwin and attacked a Japanese Kawanishi flying boat, but was shot down/killed. On the 19th Feb, 1st Lt. Oestreicher, also flying a P-40, shot down one Val and damaged another. We Australians remember them, and will never let their gallantry be forgotten.

6:14 - The warning at the start of the video is a traditional notification to indigenous people as a respect to their culture, if I understand this correctly in some areas a dead person's name could not be said because you would recall and disturb their spirit, this also now extends to images.

My grandfather was an amo truck driver and was on the docks on the first raid which he survived. He drove the trucks during 32 more raids, the last one got him injured with shrapnel to the brain..survived but with severe epilepsy into his 70s. My personal hero. One early story was how he used to tell me how there were no doors on the truck, so when a raid happened and a bomb was dropping he would throw himself into the ditch, and if the truck survived, would climb back on and keep driving...note...he drove ' ammunition ' trucks...so dangerous. My personal hero...so brave and he was only 19 at the time.he always said if it wasn't for the Americans, Australia would have been overrun. He never had a bad word for America. ❤

Back when I was a kid a lot of the War Widows and returned Servicemen used to tell us how they were getting ready to evacuate the women and kids South at the height of the war, they thought we were headed for annhilation after Britain wrote us off. The nets on the harbour were to foul up enemy propellers on the boats.

Well done, Ryan, great videos! My father worked in the Post Office in Darwin, he was supposed to join the Postmaster, Mr. Bald and his family in the air raid shelter, but he was delayed, locking documents in the safe, like the good Public Servant he was. The air raid shelter copped a direct hit, and all in it were killed. My father had PTSD from his experiences of being a civilian in a War Zone. He didn't speak much about the raid(s), except that the Japanese pilots flew so low that he could see whether or not they had moustaches. He said that with-out fail, each pilot made obscene gestures to him after they had deliberately tried to kill him by machine-gunning him. as he grovelled in the gutter on the edge of the street. They came back later in the afternoon & shot up the hospital, where he and many other wounded were. The hospital had large red crosses on the roof, and was nowhere near any military target. The pilots were obviously VERY skilful flyers, and clearly did not care about any Geneva Convention. My mother and brothers had been evacuated south just before the raid(s) and they lost everything, so we became War refugees in our own country. Life was incredibly tough for us. I was born in January 1944, exactly 9 months after a bunch of US Airforce P38 Lighnings shot down Admiral Yamamoto's plane. Yamamoto led the December 7 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour, HAWAII, and on Darwin. a couple of months later. A celebration, by my parents, maybe?

My sisters Mother-in-law was a Gunner on the front line in the bunkers. She was a hero and part Aboriginal. She passed a few years ago now. God bless her. I have the most amazing memories of our Time together ❤

You should watch " When The War Came To Cowra." Which is in central New Soth Wales. We certainly treated our POWs a lot better then the Japanese treated ours.

My great uncle joined the airforce after this event and became a bomber pilot, protecting Australia from ships and submarines! He flew mostly from Townsville and Darwin, but was also in Coffs Harbour and Sydney to prevent submarine landings there, a decorated hero! He was promoted to Wing Commander and Pilot Officer!! He was reported missing, at 29, flying American admin officers to the islands! His memorial is in Darwin! 😪

What is not widely known even by the greater Australian population is that ALL of the Darwin raids were contested in the air by Australian and American fighter squadrons. Without these brave airman fighting and breaking up the bomber formations over the ocean the strikes on Darwin would have been far worse. Some units involved in defence: 75 squadron RAAF 77 squadron RAAF 78 Spitfire squadron RAAF Composite squadron RAAF (included Dutch and RAF Malaya and Dutch East Indies survivers) 49 Fighter Group USAAF. They operated from "secret" Camoflauged airstrips cut from bush away from Darwin township to escape detection by Japanese reconnaissance aircraft.

Yes. The same Japanese pilots, aircraft and carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbour were involved, plus land based twin-engined medium bombers. More bombs were dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbour. At the time, Darwin was a small place, so the damage was severe. An invasion was expected, but never eventuated. A little later, even smaller Broome also copped it.

You have to understand that WW2 cemented the friendship that still exists today between Australia and the USA. During the war we had tens of thousands of US soldiers here in Australia. In fact recently, in Brisbane at the town hall during renovations an original wall in what was a soldiers canteen was stripped of cladding and what did they find ? They found hundreds of examples of grafitti that had been written by US soldiers serving and taking R and R here in Brisbane. They mostly wrote their names and where they came from in America. I was lucky enough to see it and I have to say it was very moving.

Tasmanian here I didn’t know about this either. My father fought in Papua New Guinea in the Admiralty Islands during WW2 he was a mechanic in the Royal Australian Air Force

Kings and Generals is doing a massive history of the Pacific War, they're up to episode 87, May 1943. If you want to see Aussies and Americans fighting side-by-side in detail, episode after episode, about 20 mins each, check it out.

We also had attacks in Newcastle NSW. Fortress Newcastle went from Wollongong to port Stephen’s to protect the steelworks and the ports There’s still remnants of cannon fortresses throughout the bush in those areas

I was in Darwin when the new airport was built. When the old airport was demolished, the workers found a number of roof beams (steel) had holes from the strafing from back then. Many of the workers took home pieces of steel beams with the holes in as mementos. I saw some of this happen.

Dr Tom Lewis has written quite a few books about these attacks on Australia in ww2. If you want extra info. "Eagles over Darwin: American Airmen Defending Northern Australia in 1942" is specifically about the US pilots who helped to defend Darwin. PS: It's a short read for a wide age group.

One day a few months later, the US Navy took care of those 4 Japanese aircraft carriers at Midway.

my dad was sent into darwin just after this raid he was in the engineers he told me a few stories about being bombed very proud of him

My uncle platoon where shipping out to Darwin and his mate wanted to go out with his girlfriend there last night in Brisbane. My uncle who was 18 at the time took his mates mail run and was killed by a truck in an accident on the Sunshine Coast Queensland. Sadly uncle Arnold's platoon didn't make it through the Darwin bombing. My grandmother never really recovered from his death.

My father [rip] fought in Papua/New Guinea and Borneo along side with the Americans in WWII. Also a passenger ferry and a wharf were torpedo in Sydney Harbour by two miniature submarines too!

I remember the stories my mum told me about when she was a kid during the war and the Japanese bombing Darwin and Japanese mini subs attacking in Sydney harbour They used to practice air raid drills at school and hide under their desks

My Late ex Father-In -Law, Staff Sgt, Ernest Ross Hough, was attached to the workshops Company during that time and one of his functions as a highly skilled toolmaker and machinist, was to set up the gun sights on the coastal batteries and anti aircraft defences. He was injured by a fragment of a bomb splinter, which ricoched off of the workshop's roof as he was diving into a trench. The fragment was removed but he suffered from septicaemia from the wound. He was also, as part of the workshop company, required to assist in undertaking damage repairs and burial of the dead. Never talked about it, other than to say it was a scary time and that the death toll may have been played down, due to the effects upon the Australian population. The Japanese bombed the port of Broome. He was on duty when the Neptune loaded with mines and explosives, went up and it was a horrible thing to witness.

Also, keep in mind, Australia was the only American ally who sent troops, ships and aircraft to Vietnam at the request of LBJ.

My dad was a Flight Sargent in the RAAF in WWII, his first posting was to Horn Island which was heavily bombed, then he was posted to Darwin three weeks after the first bombing. He was in charge a section responsible for maintenance of aircraft radios. He worked closely with USAF guys stationed nearby. They had so many Mitsubishi Zeros bombing them back then, that till the day he died in 1998 he refused to buy a Mitsubishi vehicle.

As someone who was born in Darwin I felt very proud to see you react to this and understand why the bonds between our two countries remain so strong.😊

I spend a lot of time in Darwin. There is a very rich military history here with plenty of museums and plenty of sites that were active during the war and what is left is preserved. It's definitely worth checking it all out. And really worth a drive is going to the war graves cemetery in Adelaide River. That's a moving place to visit

Aussies were in WW2 years before the USA came onboard… Sydney had Japanese submarines in Sydney harbour. Our troops were sent off to support the UK and Europe against Germany and also South Pacific against Japanese.

Australia was directly attacked a number of different times and ways, during ww2. Not that it was a contest, to be sure. Axis commerce raiders operated in close proximity. Just a few weeks before Pearl Harbor, German Raider 'Kormoran' fought Aussie light cruiser HMAS Sydney just off the coast of Western Australia. Both ships sank in that battle - Sydney was lost with ALL hands, 645 in all. It remains by far the single worst loss of life in the history of the Royal Australian Navy. Japanese minisubs raided Sydney Harbor, none returned and damage was mostly light, but they did sink a small accomodation ship (HMAS Kuttabul, a converted ferry) with loss of life. The larger Japanese submarines that carried those minisubs went on to fire shells into a Sydney suburb and sink some ships up north. Hospital ship 'Centaur' was sunk off the coast of Queensland with heavy loss of life. There were the air raids on Darwin and various other places across the north of Australia. The big raid on Darwin did the most damage and loss of life, so naturally gets a lot of the attention. In the aftermath of the Darwin Raid, there was 'the Adelaide Derby'. Communications broke down, there was a lot of disorder, and many people believed an full-on invasion was in progress. So a number of units and individuals basically fled Darwin and headed south. It is popularly believed that some got as far south as Adelaide (look at a map) before things were sorted out. The Cowra Breakout is worth examination. Basically, there was a large POW camp near the town of Cowra, in NSW. Inmates were Germans and Italians (mostly captured in the Middle East), and Japanese. Conditions were, from all accounts, okay with some prisoners even allowed to work for pay on nearby farms. In 1944, 1100 Japanese prisoners rioted and staged a mass breakout (the Germans and Italians did NOT participate in any way). In the end, 4 Australian soldiers died, and 233 prisoners died either during the escape or by suicide afterwards. All escapees (359 in all) were recaptured within a fortnight. Btw, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that the Japanese may have landed small number of troops in northern Australia at one time or another. But the areas in question were so isolated and the environment so hostile that they either withdrew very quickly or were basically "swallowed up".

My father was in the Australian army and posted in Darwin about age 20 years during this attack. He didn't talk about it much, but now I believe he had PTSD and then loss of hearing. He said the soldiers slept under the defence trucks.

My father was in the RAAF at Darwin during the raids. All young men without experience😮😮 of warfare. My father tells me he was one of the men who released the prisoners from Fanny Bay Gaol under orders and destroyed the prison records.

I grew up in Australia in the 1960s and seventies. We never got the full story until the mid-eighties. The Australian Government downplayed it at the time so as not to create panic and the full story was forgotten for over 40 years. we were taught that there was "a raid" on Darwin. The main thing taught at school was the retreat by the army while the Navy and Air Force remained.

My grandfather flew reconnaissance in Darwin, scooping up shot down airmen.

My English father in law mocked how Darwin was hit because there was a movie about the bombing which seem to downplay the amount of damage. He jokingly said: ‘You fought with garbage trucks’ I wasn’t impressed because he was a soldier during the strife in Kenya & should of known better. Thank you to those who risked their lives 🇦🇺🙏🇺🇸

Ryan Darwin is a very Historical State of Australia. It is very remote from every other State.They vertically fought this attack with the Service men serving there. I went there 12 years ago. They rebuilt only to be wiped out by a Cyclone. They have rebuilt again and now it is a beautiful place to visit. The history of the bombing is everywhere you go,to the old runways, the underground tunnels. Darwin's version of Americas Servicemen Cemetry at Arlington. There are still relics everywhere you go in the Northern Territory. So very proud to be a Aussie.

My father was in Darwin with the 16th Battalion during the bombing befor being sent overseas. He has a medal for it. The medal was for those troops that spent six months or more in the Darwin area during the Japanese bombing campaign.

It was quite common for pilots to survive in US and British planes. The canopy could be popped open quickly, you're sitting on a parachute attached to you, and a life raft. Flap the plane up side down and fall out or climb out. At low altitude you putt the plane into a belly flop tail first into the water and get out before it sinks. The Jap planes were less survivable. The fuel tank was behind the pilot with no fire control system. The hatches opened in a way that made it hard to get out in a hurry. Many more died.

During WWII the prime minister called in all the media heads and said he didn't want them to report on the bombings in northern Oz so they didn't. !! It wasn't until I travelled up the Cape York Peninsula in the late 1980s that I even knew we'd been bombed. We still weren't being taught about it in school! The islands in the Torres Strait, and near the tip of the Peninsula, had army and air bases, but I think these were set up after Darwin was bombed. I saw the wreck of a WWII plane on an old grass air strip. All the troops deployed in the north of Australia were very inexperienced! Lots of Aboriginal men joined up to fight in their local areas as land (or country) is very significant for them and they will always fight for it. I learnt lots from this video! I hadn't realised how many died in that first raid even though I've seen the graves of all who fell in these raids. I was 29 when I visited the Adelaide River Cemetry and cried because everyone but the post office workers were younger than me! It was very confronting! Pearl Harbour was bombed, then Singapore fell and then Darwin was bombed. And the Japs were gradually getting closer to Australia through Indonesia which is why the US ships were in Darwin at the time. The main action though was in New Guinea (now Papua New Guinea). The Japs landed on the north coast and were trying to take the eastern part of the island. Look up the Kokoda Track. This was a long and fierce battle between the Japs and the Aussies. They fought so hard with the help of the locals and were eventually able to defeat the Japs. But it was a close run thing as the Japs got quite close to Port Moresby. The Aussies knew that if the Japs got there then it would be easy for them to get to Australia and they weren't going to let that happen!! There was fighting all through the northern South Pacific islands. The US fought alongside the Aussies to keep the Japs at bay. One big battle was the Battle of the Coral Sea. The Kokoda Track is now hiked by people wanting to understand what the fighting in PNG was liked. They are amazed by how hard the terrain is and when you think of men fighting there ... ! So yeah lots of war history in Australia. On the night of 31 May/ 1 June the Jap mini subs entered Sydney Harbour. However someone heard Japanese on the radio and was able to alert the navy who sunk all 3 subs, 2 within the harbour itself. It was the only time they attacked Sydney. The US troops fighting in the Pacific would come to Australia for r&r. Many married Australian women who then moved to the US.

They bombed Broome in Western Australia, Darwin in the Northern Territory & Townsville in Queensland. Also attracted Sydney with mini-subs.

My Dad was in the middle east for 4 years during WWIi. He was a signalman and looked death in the face a couple of times and came back to Mum in one piece. I also had 6 uncles who served in the Navy and Army and all came back safe and sound but they saw so much and Dad took years to talk about what he saw. Dad was actually sent to Darwin waiting to go to New Guinea when the war ended. Thank God because we lost so many in PNG. I also had a grandfather in WW1. He was a 5th Lighthorseman. You would find their story very interesting - they fought on horseback. Dad lived to 92 and my Grandfather lived to 83. My Mum was also in the Army and was based at the local Barracks and worked in the uniform and cooking areas. She lived to nearly 97. I know we were blessed I still can't imagine what everyone went through. Why do so many want war now - it just beggars belief. 😢❤

I grew up in Darwin, this was such a big part of our education, the reminders are all around you. Most people knew someone who had lived through it. The local museum had a great interactive display.

This was super informative Ryan. I learnt about the raid on Darwin & surrounds in school, of course, but had forgotten the details. My grandfather & great uncles fought in WW2 & up until the day she died, my grandmother never forgave the Japanese. Don’t get me wrong, she was the kindest, most lady-like & generous person I’ve ever met. Her manners wouldn’t let her say anything terrible about the Japanese until she was near the end of her time & even then she said nothing harsh. Due to my grandfather’s civic duties in a sister city to a city in Japan, she had to meet & entertain dignitaries, she was always polite & welcoming but she found it very hard to cope, bless her ❤️

My grandfather fought in ww11 , he was in the navy . When he got home from the war he never spoke to anyone about it . He died of old age when I was about 24 and when we were packing up his room I seen all his medals and other war stuff for the first time in my life. I had no idea he had them

The enormity of 236 casualties can't be appreciated until you consider that there was only about 5000 people in Darwin at the time of the bombing. That's just under 5% of the population who perished with significantly more who were injured. Hard to imagine that one in 20 people who woke for breakfast died before lunch.

You should be able to find a video like this. About Japanese midget submarines trying to enter Sydney harbour in world war 2. It was there interesting from memory

My father served in Darwin during this phase of the war. The Yanks were very popular during their service in Aus.

Thanks for covering this, it's a piece of history that Australians should be more familiar with. My Dad was in the army, so growing up I did live in Darwin for a while; we still have a lot of our military there because it is such a strategically important city. You may also be interested in learning about the Japanese attack on Sydney. Three midget submarines got into Sydney Harbour and fired torpedoes (Hence why nets were important and the Japanese wanted them destroyed). Yes, shots were fired in Sydney Harbour, though I haven't really seen much on RU-vid about that attack. We had a visit by a Japanese submarine in my city of Newcastle too, but it isn't as dramatic. They fired at the city, and missed their target. Fortunately we have this 19th Century fortress built to repel the Russians, that was able to fire back at the submarine. We missed, but the Japanese retreated anyway.

The population that lived in the southern states were kept in the dark about the bombings. A lot of American service men died that day, so it is wonder why their sacrifice is not honored as others have been in the Pacific theater of battles in the second world war. 88 officers and sailors died on the USS Peary, so it should be something that should be taught in your schools.

If you ever visit Darwin, Stokes Hill Wharf (The wharf where MV Neptuna was sunk during the first attack) has an excellent display on the bombing of Darwin. The underground fuel tanks built during WWII are also nearby, and have tours running through that facility

12:25 In Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey Square, Canberra, there's a huge Australian-American Memorial commemorating the help given by the United States during WWII. The money for the monument was raised by public appeal in barely six weeks. The plaque reads: "In grateful remembrance of the vital help given by the United States of America during the war in the Pacific 1941-1945. Unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II February 16th 1954" 🇦🇺 🇺🇸

Hi Ryan good you have shared this extremely significant WW2 history which I’ve found over decades few USAmericans know about and that’s unfortunate because it would help them understand more about our AusUSA alliance ever since. My Great Uncle was killed in Kalimantan fighting alongside Americans and is buried on an Malaysian Island. Just check what one of your most famous WW2 Generals were doing at that time. Douglas MacArthur famously said “I shall Return” in a small rural town in South Australia. For our population Australia has exceptional involvement in supporting Allies beginning with the Boer War but huge in both World Wars. Have you checked what we did for you in Vietnam? Still raw for many my age. Korea? And all that’s well before Iraq Afghanistan!

My dad was in a transport regiment in Melbourne and would travel to Darwin. I remember him telling a story about how he was carrying Nitroglycerin. He told us that Nitro was so unstable that if the truck hit a pothole it ‘could’ explode. Similarly, just travelling on flat surface could also unsettle the nitro, and it might explode. Remembering that Melbourne to Darwin would have mostly been potholes. Who in the hell would do that now. Very brave blokes in those days. We don’t get them anymore.

It was not until I lived in darwin that I learnt more about this part of our Aussie history.

The thing at the beginning is more of a respect thing, not about how many of us are in a specific area I myself am aboriginal, and I was brought up that for one year after someone has passed away, you don't say their name or have their picture up So the video starting with that is an indication that they're trying to be respectful of our culture by letting us know ahead of time that some of the people shown, mentioned, or if they even have recording of the person's voice, have passed

Visited Darwin at Christmas. During the war were not told what happened . They just played it down.

I remember reading some where "More bombs fell on Darwin then Pearl Harbour"

i recall reading that during the raid one bloke (a Machine gunner) was in the shower when the raid struck and ran to his position wearing nothing but his tin hat (helmet), boots and a towel. And at some point during the attack he 'lost the towel' XD

My parents came to Darwin in 1956. Living here today does worry me with the rising hostility against China. We are still a prime target should war start. Of note, you should also check out what happened to darwin in 1974 with cyclone Tracy. Darwin's been wiped out a few times.

My father fought in the Air Force in Darwin during the war and told us a lot about how the government played down the numbers of casualties and damage done to prevent panic among the civilians. He also talked a lot about the differences between the Ausies, Poms and Yanks. Apparently there was quite a lot of animosity between the Americans and Australian troops, due mostly from the Americans having lots of money to spend on the sweethearts and wives of the Australian men.

Yes, check out the kokoda trail in New Guinea where the locals saved many Australians and Americans during the war. My grandfather was a New Guinean who carried the wounded Aussies to safety. I'm from Rabaul, East New Britain, PNG. The Japanese built tunnels to bunk themselves, even burrowed underground hospitals, including a submarine base in the cliffs. Very interesting history. The Aussies and Americans came to our aid to stop the insurgence to Australia. The Kokoda trail is now famous for people to do the trek in honour of those who fought and died during the war. The New Guineans who helped carry wounded and dead are called the 'fuzzy wuzzies'. The last fuzzy wuzzy died recently and commemorated. The pictures of the New Guineans helping the Aussies through the jungle and up mountains are unbelievable. The fight against the Japanese from American and Aussie allies was strategic and brutal, to the locals also.

The Japanese were in Papua New Guinea, pushing on Port Moresby.. PNG is approx 150kms (80 miles) from mainland Australia. A Wharfe is a shipping jetty, a structure built out into the harbor to unload/load ships.. The Tiwi and PNG Islanders also all knew the "enemy" were evil and violent, and sided with the Allies. They saved the lives of thousands of wounded men whom they transported by hand, through the jungles, along with supplies, for the Allies.. 10:35 he is talking about the USS Perry, the US Navy ship that was bombed and sank with lives lost.. First time Australians and Americans served together was actually under the Australian Command of Gen Sir John Monash in WWI.

My dad was a WW2 vet. He served mostly in Australia but also in Papua New Guinea.

I grew up in Darwin and to this day any time they build around the harbour shells are found from the air raid. Exploded and some that are still alive. The bomb squad from the army gets called out a lot during these times.

Always enjoy your videos. Another interesting piece of Australian history during World War II is the worlds largest mass escape of prisoners war in the small country town of Cowra New South Wales. I am sure you will find it interesting.

A lot of troops had been sent to Europe and beyond and Australia was worried about defence.

I had no idea it went on for 2 years! Glad you covered this, thank you!

Typical Aussie Sheila, you are my first post ever. Love watching, I'm learning so much about my own country. Thanx

In 1942, my mother and three sisters were evacuated from the tiny tin mining town of Mt Garnet to Brisbane. My father stayed behind as his job of searching for tin fields to be mined was considered an essential job in the War Effort.

My Dad was stationed in Darwin. He said the Japanese flew so low that you could see the pilots laughing as they strafed the ground.

In Australia, the colloquial/slang term for a veteran or vet or returned serviceman is a "digger".

I lived in Darwin for several years. There are lots of war memorials, old bases, many old fortifications, and a great museum with lots of planes, tanks, equipment, and so on. The history of WW2 is everywhere there. Today, there is a major Australian Army and air force base there. America has a base there too. The Marine Rotational Force-Darwin is a United States Marine Corps Marine Air-Ground Task Force based at Matilda Lines at Robertson Barracks and at RAAF Base Darwin.

My grandfather was in the Australian airforce during WWII. He was assigned to an American unit stationed in New Guinea.

Anzac Day in Darwin 2024, an American unit marched in our parade today. Just wonderful!

If Father McGrath’s warning had have been properly heeded, authorities would have had 20 extra precious minutes to prepare and fewer people would have died. The Catholic missionary priest continued to broadcast despite the shed he was in being pelted with bullets. The message was conveyed to the RAAF base but they assumed the aircraft were American P-40’s and so took no action.

WWII began in Europe and Australia went there in 1939. Japan didn’t attack Pearl Harbour until December, 1941, which got America involved in their own conflict. The US was consequently very late getting to Europe. The movie, “Yanks” depicts that, and starred Richard Gere and Lisa Eilbacher.

My father enlisted in Australian Air Force in WW2. He wanted to be a pilot but failed the medical due to an eye condition. He was sent to Borneo, which later became part of Indonesia. He was a wireless telegraphist (morse code). My mother was Danish and her and her brother were part of the Danish resistance. Her brother was wanted by the Germans so he spent the last couple of years of the war working as a Gardener in a convent using a fake ID provided by the resistance. My mother was only 16 at the start of the war but she used to deliver resistance newspapers on her bicycle.

Darwin has been my home for 27 years. Many people in Australia don’t know that Darwin was bombed even to this day. I didn’t before I came here. Thanks for sharing our beautiful city.

The wharf is the quay. I was a child of 8 at the time, at school in Perth. Schools evacuated to country areas, and many people left the cities, not only Darwin. We went to my great uncle’s farm in the south west and stayed there for six months. My father was a prisoner of the Japs in Borneo. I am English and now in the UK.

My Pop was in Darwin during the bombing, he was in the Royal Australian Navy as a Stoker on HMAS Shropshire. He would tell us grandkids very little about his war service, but he did tell us that the attack was very sudden and very quick, and they were unprepared for the kamikaze pilots. He said he came up with his fellow servicemen from the engine of the ship armed with his service weapon, a 308 rifle, and shooting at the Japanese planes from the deck of the ship.

Grandfather, Grandmother, Great Aunt, other Grandfather and two Great Uncles (one Kia) all served in WW2. All but my Grandmother served defening the north of Australia.

Ryan I can’t believe they never taught you in school about Americans in Australia during WW2 and some killed. They have war memorials and cemeteries etc in Darwin. Lots of history about it to read and on RU-vid. Ryan, if you type into RU-vid - Darwin bombed, there are a few vids to watch yourself. We here in Australia knew the Americans were here. Saw a vid where an American jeep is or was still up there for many decades. Lots of other stuff I’ve read about the Americans in Australia too. 🎉

5:49 sadly, a lot of Australians don’t even know much, except for the fact that Darwin was attacked