Men at Camp Mackay (Whareroa Farm) singing God Bless America at the end of a concert by the comedian Joe E Brown.
Men at Camp Mackay (Whareroa Farm) singing God Bless America at the end of a concert by the comedian Joe E Brown.
A service has been held to remember the thousands of US Marines stationed in Kāpiti’s Queen Elizabeth Park during World War II.
The Memorial Day service, at the US Marines Memorial on Monday, was held in memory of the 15,000 US Marines who lived in camps Mackay (Whareroa Farm), Russell (Queen Elizabeth Park) and Paekākāriki (Paekākāriki village) from 1942 to 1944.
While the majority lived and trained in Kāpiti during this period, a significant number were also camped in Porirua, Wellington City, the Hutt Valley and the Wairarapa district.
The service, jointly hosted by the Kāpiti US Marines Trust (KUSMT) and the New Zealand American Association, paid tribute to them too.
KUSMT chair Richard Benge said the thousands of young Marines who served in New Zealand sacrificed life, health and opportunities in the service of the United States and New Zealand.
“We mourn the significant loss of their lives – and the injuries they sustained in the Pacific War – particularly in the Battles of Tarawa and Guadalcanal.
“We also pay tribute to the 10 US Navy seamen who lost their lives through drowning in a tragic landing accident on Whareroa Beach off the Kāpiti Coast on June 16, 1943.”
Benge said the events remembered on Memorial Day were set against the backdrop of great uncertainty and fear.
“The story began with an urgent need to prepare for the surprise arrival of thousands of Marines.
“It built to the meeting of two similar but quite different cultures in an intense, short period of time and ended with many tragic consequences.
“As time went by, real friendships emerged as local families ‘adopted’ young Marines and relationships formed.
“For many they were family.
Camp Russell, in Queen Elizabeth Park, during World War II.
“Children of the time, some still alive today, remember warfare in their own backyards, waving to the Marines as they marched up the highway to the new camps, meeting Marines at the dairy, sharing Sunday church services and having them home for dinner.
“This was our war too.
“These were our Marines and the loss of American lives was also our heartbreak.
“We have precious memories of veterans and their families, who have visited New Zealand to honour their Marines brothers and their New Zealand families.
“We remember with deepest gratitude the US Armed Service men and women who protected and defended our country in the Pacific War.”
KUSMT is committed to promoting, collecting, conserving and exhibiting the history of this period of history.
