On the anniversary of their deaths, the Australian Army has formally identified two Australian soldiers who were both killed on 8 August in different wars and on opposite sides of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Private Archibald \u2018Blue\u2019 Hanley, 30th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, and Lieutenant Hercules William Crawford, 39th Battalion, Citizens Military Forces, were killed 24 years apart – one during the Battle of Amiens in 1918 and the other during the Kokoda Battle in 1942.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following extensive investigations, the Australian Army has now confirmed the identities of both previously unknown soldiers buried in France and Papua New Guinea, ensuring they are recognised and remembered by name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The identifications were made by the Australian Army\u2019s Unrecovered War Casualties team, following detailed investigations in partnership with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Office of Australian War Graves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Private Archibald \u2018Blue\u2019 Hanley, of the 30th Battalion, was killed in action near Villers-Bretonneux, France, on 8 August 1918. Investigations have now confirmed that an Unknown Australian Soldier buried at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery is Private Hanley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lieutenant Crawford was wounded and went missing near Pirivi on the Kokoda Track on 8 August 1942, and following a two-year investigation, Army concluded that an Unknown Australian Soldier buried at Bomana War Cemetery in Papua New Guinea is Lieutenant Crawford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has concurred with the findings of both investigations. Replacement headstones bearing the soldiers\u2019 names, ranks and unit details will now be installed in consultation with their families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Veterans\u2019 Affairs, the Hon Matt Keogh MP:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen we say \u2018Lest We Forget\u201d at the end of the Ode we re-commit to remembering them in perpetuity. Today we honour two Australian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our nation and, at long last, can be remembered by name rather than as unknown soldiers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe formal identification of Private Archibald Hanley and Lieutenant Hercules William Crawford reflects our enduring commitment to accounting for Australia\u2019s wartime missing, no matter how much time has passed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe work of the Australian Army\u2019s Unrecovered War Casualties team, alongside the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Office of Australian War Graves, reflects the care and determination invested in honouring those who served our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Susan Coyle AM, CSC, DSM:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMore than a century after the First World War and more than 80 years after the battle of Kokoda, we continue to honour our obligation to those who served Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe formal identification of Private Archibald Hanley and Lieutenant Hercules William Crawford demonstrates that time does not diminish our determination to account for our missing and ensure their service and sacrifice are properly commemorated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese identifications provide long-awaited answers for their families and ensure both men will be remembered not as unknown soldiers, but by name, rank and unit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the anniversary of their deaths, the Australian Army has formally identified two Australian soldiers who were both killed on 8 August in different wars and on opposite sides of the world. Private Archibald \u2018Blue\u2019 Hanley, 30th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, and Lieutenant Hercules William Crawford, 39th Battalion, Citizens Military Forces, were killed 24 years … Continue reading “Two missing Australian soldiers identified”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40339"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40340,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40339\/revisions\/40340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}