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5 August 2004
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60 years ago
5 August 2004 17:47On Saturday, 5 August 1944 Japanese prisoners at Cowra staged a breakout that resulted in the deaths of 4 young Australians and 231 Japanese.
"At 0150 hours on Saturday 5 August 1944 an unauthorized bugle was heard in camp B and immediately thereafter up to 900 Japanese prisoners of war rushed from their huts and attacked the fences of the compound."
The bugle was blown by the pilot of this plane, which was shot down during the first raid on Darwin. He was one of the first killed during the breakout.
Australian War Memorial report
The poor escapees didn't understand the distances between places in Australia. They thought they'd only have to get over the hills to the north and they'd be on the coast. Cowra is 500km from the sea to the east.
Today, in Cowra, Australian and Japanese survivors of the breakout met to remember their fallen friends.
"At 0150 hours on Saturday 5 August 1944 an unauthorized bugle was heard in camp B and immediately thereafter up to 900 Japanese prisoners of war rushed from their huts and attacked the fences of the compound."
The bugle was blown by the pilot of this plane, which was shot down during the first raid on Darwin. He was one of the first killed during the breakout.
Australian War Memorial report
The poor escapees didn't understand the distances between places in Australia. They thought they'd only have to get over the hills to the north and they'd be on the coast. Cowra is 500km from the sea to the east.
Today, in Cowra, Australian and Japanese survivors of the breakout met to remember their fallen friends.
