More than 80 years after he was reported missing in action during the Kokoda campaign, the remains of an Australian soldier have finally been identified.
Lieutenant Hercules William Crawford, a member of the 39th Battalion, was 34 when he disappeared in 1942, after his unit was ambushed by Japanese forces in Papua New Guinea.
Crawford was seriously injured during the attack and was never seen again.
“That was the last time he was seen effectively by anyone,” Kokoda historian Carl Johnson said.
“Hercules Crawford is the last member of the lead battalion to head up the Kokoda Track, the first to face the Japanese to be still seen as missing in action”.
After years of efforts to establish what happened to Crawford, the Australian Army has confirmed his remains were among those buried at Bomana War Cemetery in Papua New Guinea.
His granddaughter Natasha Read said keeping his memory alive had been important to her family.
“Keeping his memory alive with my grandfather meant the world,” she said.
“Given the sacrifices that my grandfather made, the least thing that I can do is make sure that his memory’s never forgotten.”
A new gravestone with Crawford’s name will soon be unveiled at the cemetery.
The announcement also confirmed the identity of another Australian soldier who had been buried as an unknown soldier for more than a century.
Private Archibald ‘Blue’ Hanley, of the 30th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, was killed on August 8, 1918, during the Battle of Amiens in France.
Investigations have confirmed that an Unknown Australian Soldier buried at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery was Hanley.
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said the discoveries meant two Australian servicemen could finally be remembered by name.
“When we say ‘Lest We Forget’ at the end of the Ode we re-commit to remembering them in perpetuity. Today we honour two Australian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our nation and, at long last, can be remembered by name rather than as unknown soldiers,” he said.
“The formal identification of Private Archibald Hanley and Lieutenant Hercules William Crawford reflects our enduring commitment to accounting for Australia’s wartime missing, no matter how much time has passed.
“The work of the Australian Army’s Unrecovered War Casualties team, alongside the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Office of Australian War Graves, reflects the care and determination invested in honouring those who served our nation.”
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