Wednesday 9 October 2013

The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels - Our Forgotten Friends

Christmas Day, 1942;
Australian soldier, George "Dick" Whittington, 

and the Papuan Fuzzy Wuzzy Raphael Oimbari.
1942 was a terrible time when an invasion of Australia by the Japanese Imperial Forces looked almost inevitable. Diggers were fighting and dying on lonely jungle tracks in almost impenetrable jungle in mountain ranges so high that it was very cold at night time. It was then that they found a new set of friends. The men of the tribes of Papua and later of New Guinea flocked to help the Aussies.

We, Australians owe them a Debt of Gratitude that is Immense!



Many a mother in Australia,
When the busy day is done,
Sends a prayer to the Almighty
For the keeping of her son,
Asking that an Angel guide him
And bring him safely back
Now we see those prayers are answered
On the Owen Stanley track,
For they haven’t any halos,
Only holes slashed in the ears,
And with faces worked by tattoos,
With scratch pins in their hair,
Bringing back the wounded,
Just as steady as a hearse,
Using leaves to keep the rain off
And as gentle as a nurse.


Slow and careful in bad places,
On the awful mountain track,
And the look upon their faces,
Makes us think that Christ was black.
Not a move to hurt the carried,
As they treat him like a Saint,
It’s a picture worth recording,
That an Artist’s yet to paint.
Many a lad will see his Mother,
And the Husbands, Weans and Wives,
Just because the Fuzzy Wuzzy
Carried them to save their lives.


From mortar or machine gun fire,
Or a chance surprise attack,
To safety and the care of Doctors,
At the bottom of the track.
May the Mothers in Australia,
When they offer up a prayer,
Mention those impromptu Angels,
With the Fuzzy Wuzzy hair.


By: Sapper H "Bert" Beros
NX 6925, 7th Div., RAE, AIF



A MOTHER' S REPLY  

We, the Mother's of Australia
As we kneel each night in prayer
Will be sure to ask God's blessings
On the men with fuzzy hair.


And may the Great Creator
Who made us both black and white
Help us to remember how they
Helped us to win the fight .


For surely He, has used these
Men with fuzzy wuzzy hair
To guard and watch our wounded
With tender and loving care.


And perhaps when they are tired
With blistered and aching back
He'll take the Yoke On himself
And help them down the track.


And God will be the Artist
And this picture He will paint
Of a Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel
With the Halo of a Saint.


And His presence shall go with them
In tropic heat and rain
And he'll help them to tend our wounded
In sickness and in pain.


So we thank you Fuzzy Wuzzies
For all that you have done
Not only for Australians
But for Every Mother's Son.


And we are glad to call you friends
Though your faces may be black
For we know that Christ walked
With you - on the Owen Stanley track.








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