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Arthur Stubbs had a huge smile on his face as young and old crowded to shake his hand yesterday.
New Zealand's oldest Crete veteran celebrated his 104th birthday at a service honouring him and other soldiers who fought in the World War II battle.
"[There are] too many people making too much of it," said Mr Stubbs. "It makes me a bit shy."
More than 100 people packed the Tauranga RSA for the service marking the 67th anniversary of the Battle for Crete. After sombre commemorations for the 671 New Zealanders killed in the battle, the crowd sang Happy Birthday to Mr Stubbs and cheered "hip, hip, hooray".
While the 104-year-old admitted feeling overwhelmed by the attention, he was less shy about sharing a huge birthday cake presented to him by Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby.
"Do you want a piece of cake?" he asked the Herald before it had been cut.
"Take a bite out of it," he laughed.
The former corporal in Petrol Company stood for the next hour, needing no walker or wheelchair, as people vied to talk to him and ask about his escapades.
Mr Stubbs was 36 when he served in Crete, having already lied about his age to get into the Army.
He was taken prisoner on the Greek island and, after helping several others to escape, managed to flee himself after four years in captivity.
Mr Stubbs was one of 11 Crete veterans at the Tauranga RSA's annual service, which was attended by only 20 people last year.
Mayor Crosby said the huge increase in numbers was a sign of growing respect for the veterans, and Deidre Hauschild, secretary of the local Crete Veterans Association, said awareness of New Zealand soldiers' deeds in the battle was increasing: "We've always been in the shadow of Anzac Day but we have more and more people coming [to commemorations], including the descendants."
Greek ambassador Evangelos Damianakis said that the battle created "a powerful bond between the people of New Zealand and Greece that cannot be easily broken".
He used historian Michael King's words to describe the battle as the "Gallipoli of its era".
Karen Rickey, 69, brought along a photo album belonging to her father, Noel "Hoot" Gibson.
He survived the war but died when she was 22, and she was delighted to meet two veterans who remembered him as a comical character befitting his nickname.
A national commemoration marking the start of the Battle for Crete, on May 20, 1941, will be held in Wellington tomorrow.
* BATTLE FOR CRETE
Began on May 20, 1941, when German paratroopers landed on the Greek island for the start of a huge airborne assault.
For 12 days, NZ, British, Australian and Greek troops, helped by Cretan civilians, tried unsuccessfully to repel them.
It was a heavy defeat for the Allies, with more than 3500 soldiers killed and 15,000 captured.
Of 7500 NZers, 671 died and 2180 were taken prisoner.
German victory also came at a huge cost: Nearly 4000 of its troops were killed and more than 2500 wounded.
Source: www.nzhistory.net.nz
