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PRIME MINISTER
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P J KEATING HP
TYPHOON MEMORIAL, NOYERS BOCAGE, FRANCE
6 JUNE 1994
MUBARGO: ll. OOPM AEST
This is a monument to the good which unites the people of
many nations with the people of France. It unites the
Australian people with the people of France.
It is not the only such monument.
The Australian airmen of World War II whose sacrifice is
commemorated at Noyers Bocage followed that heroic
generation of whom more than forty thousand lie buried in
the fields of France.
By their suffering and sacrifice, their courage and
character, that earlier generation gave birth to a legend
which still inspires and unites Australians.
As brave and selfless as any who came before them, as
devoted to the cause of freedom, as faithful to their
ideals, as full of hope, the Australians commemorated
here lived by that legend and died by it.
Like those who fought at Gallipoli and on the Somme, they
went into battle knowing that death was more than
possible it was likely. And more likely each
succeeding time.
Today in Noyers Bocage we honour the airmen of all
nations who fought and died in the strug-g to liberate
Europe in World War II.
And, because we are Australian, we honour our countrymen
especially. We honour those who left the place and the
people they loved and crossed the world to defend freedom
and advance the cause of justice.
Among those to whom we pay tribute today is Pilot Officer
Don Mason, whose Typhoon was shot down on the eighteenth
of June 1944 and whose aircraft and remains were not
discovered until late 1992. It was this discovery which
brought about Australia's association with the Typhoon
Pilot Monument.
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There is a tnreac In AUULLljQ'a hintory whioh has always
linked us to France. What the French called liberty,
equality and fraternity Australians were inclined to
call "' mateship" and the " fair go" for all.
Australians had in mind the same ideal of a free and fair
society. A better place for all men and women.
Those commemorated here, all those who flew those
hazardous missions, know the value of these things.
And their sacrifice made us know them better. When we
honour their memory, when we say they did not die in
vain, we mean that we know they made our freedom safe and
our faith the stronger.
We mean that we will never forget.
Nor can we forget today the trials endured by the French
people. The people of Normandy the people of this
community endured loss and devastation on a terrible
scale. They endured what we in Australia have had the
good fortune never to endure for we have never suffered
occupation and tyranny.
I know that the airmen who fought this war those who
lived and those who died would want it known that we
have not forgotten the support they received from the
people of France.
They would want it known that their own courage was
matched by the French Resistance; by the people who
risked their lives to protect them and help then find
their way to safety and freedom on the ground.
We see this monument to the Typhoon Pilots as a monument
to the courage of the French people as well. We see it
as a memorial to their resilience, and to their desire
for peace.
Our two countries are f ar apart in so many ways. But in
the events of fifty years ago common values were proved
and a story in common was written.
That is the reason for this memorial. It enshrines those
val~ ee and the story of a generation* who so believed in
freedom and justice they were prepared to lay down their
lives. It honours their memory and tolls new generations that
the peace and freedom we now enjoy came by their
sacrifice. It tells us that we must inherit their faith
and pass it on to our children. G3727