Victoria Cross recipient Willie Apiata (second from left) pictured with members of the Kiwi delegation in the Solomon Islands. Photo / NZDF
Victoria Cross recipient Willie Apiata (second from left) pictured with members of the Kiwi delegation in the Solomon Islands. Photo / NZDF
The daughter of former US President John F. Kennedy has met with the descendants of two men in the Solomon Islands who saved her father's life.
The meeting happened during the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal over the weekend, which remembered those who served in the Solomon Island during World War II.
More than 25,000 soldiers were killed during the six-month battle, including many Solomon Island natives.
Caroline Kennedy, the newly appointed US ambassador to Australia, met and presented special medals to Nelma Ane and John Koloni, whose respective fathers - Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana - ultimately saved the young man who would one day become the 35th president of the United States of America.
The story goes that on August 1943, the patrol torpedo boat JF Kennedy commanded at the time - the PT-109 - was one of 15 boats sent into Blackett Strait, just northwest of Guadalcanal, when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer.
Two crew members were killed, while JF Kennedy and 10 others survived the ordeal.
The young naval officer would swim to a number of islands in the area before coming across two teenage boys named Biuku and Eroni, who came up with the idea for JF Kennedy to write a message on the husk of a coconut.
Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Australia, presented medals at a ceremony Sunday on the island of Guadalcanal to honor the 80th anniversary of the World War II battle there that nearly led to the death of her father, John F. Kennedy. https://t.co/sIwrvy1LnFpic.twitter.com/NtfQ6J2gOi
They would deliver that coconut and the all-important message about 60km away to an Allied base that resulted in the rescuing of JF Kennedy and his crew.
The would-be president later famously had the coconut encased in plastic and placed on his Oval Office desk as a paperweight.
A team from the NZ Defence Force has also taken part in the commemorations during a visit with a delegation led by Defence Minister Peeni Henare.
Others present include Victoria Cross recipient Willie Apiata and New Zealand's Secretary of Defence Andrew Bridgman.
Commander Joint Forces NZ Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour said it was important to remember this particular battle as it marked a turning point in the defeat of the Japanese during World War II.
Although New Zealanders were not involved in the landings all those years ago, Kiwi forces from the Royal NZ Air Force, the NZ Army and the Royal NZ Navy, later became involved.
Defence Minister Peeni Henare pays respect at commemorations in the Solomon Islands marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. Photo / NZDF
"People lost their lives on the land, in the skies and out off the coast in Iron Bottom Sound.
"On both sides of the conflict there was extreme bravery, extreme hardship and it's important we come here as New Zealanders and remember those that fought during that time," Gilmour said.
"As a Pacific nation, it's important we commemorate these important events during the Second World War. We show our commitment to our partners and our allies and we also show our commitment to Solomon Islands and other partners within the Pacific."
Gilmour also acknowledged the significance of having members of the Japanese community present at the commemorations, which run through to tomorrow.
He noted that was a powerful gesture, "as we recognise that that era has now gone and we are close allies."
The Kiwi contingent attended a dawn service at the US Memorial at Skyline Ridge yesterday and will then go to an event hosted by the Solomon Islands Government on Bloody Ridge today.
That is described as a small hill behind the airport where US Marines repelled the Japanese attacking Henderson Field in September, 1942.
Tomorrow they will head to the Australian Memorial ceremony which will honour the lives of those lost on the HMAS Canberra on August 9, 1942, when it was badly damaged by Japanese naval forces. A total of 84 crew members were killed.
