SOLDIERS’ RETURN

Grey River Argus, 4 June 1942, Page 5

SOLDIERS’ RETURN

WELCOMED BY MR FRASER ■ WELLINGTON, June 3. “We do not know how or when an attack might be made on this country, but I can assure you that thousands of your comrades in the military camps all over the Dominion, are ready to fight with the same spirit and determination you showed in your battles in the Middle East, declared Mr Fraser, recently when extending a welcome to a number of New Zealand soldiers, who have returned to the Dominion after war service overseas. He told them that full arrangements had been made to do > everything for them, and the people of New Zealand were anxious that the utmost should be done to show then appreciation of the splendid services they had rendered to the country. MEN’S EXPERIENCES. P.A. WELLINGTON, June 3. The majority of the sick and wounded in the contingent of return; ecl men, who were welcomed by Fraser, were walking cases, and there were a number of men wno took part in the battle of Sidi Rezegh. , ~ One Southlander, who wears th-.-Military Medal for his lone-handed action behind an anti-tank gun at the height of the action at Suli Kezegh, is officially credited wim getting six German tanks before a shellburst got him. Speaking of Geiman tanks, he said that he was unimpressed with them. They were not as good as he expected them to be and the New Zealand anti-tank gum got in some deadly work. Another South Islander had vhe I unfortunate experience of personally sampling one of the traps that the Italians left all over the place when they evacuated a position, in this case it was an Italian “thermos flask” bomb, which exploded when he accidentally trod on it when it was half-buried in the sand. As a result, he is minus a foot. A member of the famous longI range desert group spoke casually of I destroying food and supply dumps behind, the enemies’ lines, and also I any stray aircraft and other equ’.p- -! ment they ran across. On one occasion they did enormous damage to a whole supply train. It was nard work, but exciting, he said, especially as they had to live off the country as much as possible. One soldier who had his arm in a sling was a despatch rider, who was deliberately run down by a German armoured car, but miraculously came out alive. One of our anti-tank guns got the German car shortly afterwards.