Lae, July 23, 2025 —In the soft stillness of the dawn light this morning, the Old RSL Building at 2nd Street in Lae became a place of quiet reflection. A small but solemn gathering stood to remember an event that happened 83 years ago — on 23rd July 1942 — when a group of young Papuan soldiers, barefoot and barely armed, fired their first shots in defence of their homeland near Awala village in Northern Papua.
These were not trained professionals. They were plantation workers, labourers, ex-policemen, teachers — ordinary men from villages scattered across the Fly River, Purari, Moresby, Buna, Tufi, New Ireland, Bougainville and beyond. They responded to the call to arms with no certainty of return. Some had never travelled far from home, but they signed up to defend a land they knew was worth fighting for.
They became the Papuan Infantry Battalion — the PIB — and would earn, through courage and sacrifice, the enduring respect of both friend and foe. Their feet were bare, but their spirits were unbreakable. Without them, the Allied victory in the Pacific — particularly along the infamous Kokoda Trail — may have been lost.
The Green Shadows Who Defended the Nation
The Japanese soldiers gave them a name: “Ryokuin” – The Green Shadows. Their bushcraft, tracking, and ability to vanish and reappear in the thick jungle made them both revered and feared. They blended into the terrain, fought with cunning, and guided Allied troops through some of the harshest terrain imaginable. Many times, they fought alone, outnumbered, and under-equipped.
From Gona and Kokoda to Salamaua, Aitape-Wewak, Ramu Valley, Finschhafen, Manus and Bougainville, the PIB moved through mountains, valleys and swamps. They endured the searing tropical heat and the bone-deep chill of night, surviving on sheer willpower and a sense of duty to a land not yet called a nation.
They were the first to fire in defence of Papua New Guinea, on home soil, against a foreign enemy. Not Australians. Not Americans. Papuans.
Courage Under Fire
Among these unsung heroes were men whose bravery was nothing short of extraordinary. Sergeant Katue, one of the first PIB recruits, risked his life repeatedly behind enemy lines to gather vital intelligence. His actions helped save countless Allied soldiers. For this, he became the first Papuan awarded the Military Medal for Bravery.
Corporal Sanopa later earned the same honour after rescuing members of B Company at Oivi Ridge. Despite being heavily outnumbered, he led them through enemy lines to safety.
Then there were the heroics of Sergeant John Ehava, who in February 1943 single-handedly repelled a Japanese force of 30 men while protecting his patrol near the Kumusi River. Corporal Gabriel Ehava Karava, another brave son of PNG, also received the Military Medal for his valour at Opi River.
Honour Through Remembrance
Today, we remember these men not just for their deeds, but for their legacy. They were not celebrated in textbooks or paraded in history’s spotlight. Yet their sacrifices helped secure the peace and freedom that we too often take for granted.
Of the thousands who served in the Papuan Infantry Battalion and the Pacific Islands Regiment, 928 Papua New Guineans lost their lives. Many others came home with wounds — visible and invisible. They carried the weight of war into their later years with little recognition.
They did not ask for medals. They asked for a future. And they gave us one.
A Nation’s Quiet Promise
As the dawn service concluded this morning at Igam Barracks, a simple prayer echoed across the crowd:
“May we prove worthy of their sacrifice.”
It is a quiet promise — that we will not forget them. That we will speak their names. That their stories will live on in classrooms, village gatherings, memorials, and the hearts of a grateful people.
These were the barefoot soldiers of Papua New Guinea. The shadows who stood their ground. The ones who walked ahead so we could walk free.
Lest we forget.
Yes, natives who made up the Papua Infantry Battalion made sacrifices to secure a path for future citizens of PNG. There were also those natives who searched the battlefields to retrieve the dead bodies of fallen comrades.
However, one sticky point which stood out was constantly buried to this day and maybe beyond into the future… and it was the fact that although it was not our battle, out soil was used to launch and fight their battles. Will our soil be used by foreign powers to launch and fight their future battles?
We continue to remember a battle that was never ours. This war was a battle of foreign powers fought on our soil, sacrifices were made by natives to support the Allied Forces. Will our children continue be caught in between future battles between foreign powers who will surely once again use our soil to launch their battles.