On the morning of 6 May 2025, two new headstones for fallen WWI Australian soldiers, were transported by a RAAF 35SQN C-27J Spartan transport aircraft from Jackson International Airport in Port Moresby to Kavieng, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG).
The headstones of Captain G. O. Manning and Private W.T Addis, both of the Tropical Force, were accompanied by Mr Rowan Foster, the Operations Manager in PNG for the Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG). OAWG as representatives of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and as agents of Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) are committed to the perpetual care and maintenance of these headstone commemorations.
War Graves like those of CAPT Manning and PTE Addis are continually maintained by the OAWG to ensure that the sacrifices made by Commonwealth sailors, soldiers and aviators are remembered by future generations.
The RAAF C-27J Spartan is deployed to PNG as part of a Defence Pacific Air Program rotation focusing on airlift cooperation with the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in various transportation tasks, such as personnel movements, ferrying food and fuel supplies as well as delivering aid and educational supplies around the country.
Ends.
Department of Veteran's Affairs Office of Australian War Graves Operations Manager in Papua New Guinea, Mr. Rowan Foster, with the gravestone of WWI veteran Private Addis prior to being loaded onto a RAAF C-27J Spartan and delivered to it's final resting place at Kavieng, Papua New Guinea.
For further information, including access to related materials, please contact the Australian High Commission media team: +675 7090 0100