WELL-EARNED FURLOUGH.

Evening Star, Issue 24915, 13 July 1943, Page 2

WELL-EARNED FURLOUGH.

Membeks of the First, Second, and Third Echelons of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force hare made a dramatic appearance in New Zealand. These tried warriors have been brought home ori a well-earned furlough of three months as the result of an arrangement between ■•: Lieutenant-general Freyberg and, the Dominion artd British Governments. They have fought magnificently and endured many hardships in Greece, Crete, Egypt, and Tunisia, and, as General Kippenberger has said, the fame of their valour will live in history. Many of the engagements in which they distinguished themselves were fought in adverse circumstances, and. they came through the ordeals with undaunted courage and resolution. What was perhaps even more difficult, they .had to bear periods of anxious waiting and much discomfort on the desert 6tr6tcb.es of Egypt and in other places, and here again they bore themselves with patience and fortitude. The, events that led up to the great victory in Tunisia were of necessity protracted, but New Zealand's young men at the end of difficult campaigns can look back with satisfaction ou what,was accomplished. The sentiment contained ill the old song, .' When Johnny Comes Marching" Homo Again,' cannot be applied to the full, for ponce has not yet come to the world, and stern tasks lie ahead, but our lads who have obtained a brief respito will receive a joyful welcome, in which there must be a tinge of sadness at the thought that many of the brave gave their lives for their country, and their <rraves lie in far-off, hard-fought fields. The respite will be appreciated by the men who have come back, and it will be a joy to relatives- and friends. No illusions are held by our men about the future. Their spirit was expressed by one of the returning soldiers m Wellington yesterday when ho said: 1 will ibo going back all right You can t keep me out of it, and plenty of my pals on board here feel the same way about it." New Zealand entered the war with a full realisation of tho issues that lay ahead, and it is no exaggeration to'sav that with the great majority of our soidiers—those who have served and those who are waiting to servethere will bo no stnv till a mal.gua.it enemy is completely .crushed I he Prime Ministei, m paying a tribute to the deeds of our troops, said that all I who had returned deserved the veiy

host the country could place at their disposal. That is a view that will be cordially endorsed, and the hope will be felt that what has been done for the men who arc now back will he extended to other drafts later oii if the bells of victory are not heard in the near future.