A memento from Monte Cassino

Don McCulloch can be forgiven for the fact that he knew nothing of the battle for Cassino, in Italy, where New Zealand troops served with distinction against determined German resistance. Nor was he aware that his father, Walter (Wally) McCulloch, was in the thick of it, and displaying courage that would be rewarded with the Military Medal.

Don was little more than a babe in arms when all that was going on, but his awareness has grown considerably since then, not only by virtue of the service rendered by his father, but also by the memento Wally brought home.

Don was in the dark about that too until he celebrated his 21st birthday in 1963, when his father presented him with the traditional key, which he had had fashioned from a piece of steel retrieved from the rubble at Cassino.

He hadnt said anything about it until that night, Don said last week, as a handful of old soldiers from New Zealand prepared to return to Cassino for the 70th anniversary commemorations.

The key is now a treasured possession, one of only a few tangible reminders of what his father and his fellow servicemen endured, and achieved, all those years ago.

Like many who served and survived, Wally McCulloch was not one for telling war stories when he returned home.

Dons 21st birthday, incidentally, was celebrated at the Kaitaia Dramatic Society (KDS) hall, roughly adjacent to the western wall of Te Ahu, about a month before the actual date.

Christmas was a busy time at the shop [his father owned the towns menswear store], so we had the party early, Don said.

The citation that accompanied Trooper Wally McCullochs Military Medal reads as follows:

During the whole period of the battle for Cassino, from March 15-24, 1944,

Trooper McCulloch displayed great coolness and a complete disregard for personal safety in the evacuation of wounded.

Attached as a jeep driver to the Regimental Aid Post, he played a conspicuously gallant part in the evacuation of wounded from several units, operating from the Scissors Bridge, 200 yards from Cassino, and under particularly heavy shellfire at all times. He made several trips each night and frequently had to wait long periods alone at the bridge until he could collect his casualties. The area and his route to the Regimental Aid Post were continually under fire from heavy guns, but Trooper McCulloch stuck doggedly to his post.

For the whole period he was engaged in this work he had no respite, and nothwithstanding almost impossible driving conditions, he carried out successfully and safely the evacuation of large numbers of wounded from in and around Cassino. When the necessity arose Trooper McCulloch made trips in daylight under observation of the enemy, and was subjected to heavy fire. His readiness for action at all times was an inspiration to the Regimental Aid Post and all who were engaged on similar duties. His ability in handling the evacuees under such trying conditions was outstanding.