00:00July 1942 and Australia is under attack. Japan has joined the Second World War attacking British,
00:13French, Dutch, American and Australian territories in the Pacific. With nearly 3,000 Japanese landing
00:19at Gona on the northern coast of New Guinea, all that stands between the Japanese war machine and
00:25the prized Papuan capital of Port Moresby is a small group of inexperienced Australian militia.
00:31If the Japanese capture Port Moresby, Australia's northern maritime approaches will potentially
00:36be vulnerable. This is the story of the Kokoda Campaign and the jungle combat that protected
00:42the Australian mainland from the fear of Japanese invasion.
00:47In 1942, a narrow trail carved through the jungles of Papua New Guinea became the front
00:54line of Australia's defence and a symbol of unbreakable courage.
00:59This is Kokoda, not just a place but a journey etched into the heart of our nation's history.
01:05The people will still be talking about it.
01:06The people will talk to each other about it. It was just a period of waiting for the
01:12people's life, everything will go up. You can talk about it and of course we haven't got
01:16any mail because we're likely to go until seven months. And parents, wives, girlfriends and
01:24We were friends and children and had no idea when I first came to the Boston district and walked here and the first thing my mother asked me, we worked with them all these months.
01:40For those who've walked it, either in Battle or Remembrance, the Kokoda Track is sacred ground.
01:47How do you get that? I'm buying the biggest state city's ever seen. One for each of us.
01:53The trail demands everything, strength, endurance and heart, but it gives something back to perspective and pride.
02:02It's not just for today, but it's for tomorrow.
02:06I signed up because I thought I'd be home by Christmas.
02:09Jungle rides, no food, bullets flying through the trees.
02:14The Japanese didn't send an invite, mate.
02:17They'll remember there were boys here who became men.
02:24What does Kokoda mean to you now after all these years?
02:29Memories. Long, long time memories.
02:35Men who were, some of them were in boys.
02:41We didn't at the time because you're filthy dirty.
02:45You never wash.
02:46I never cleaned my teeth, I never had haircuts.
02:51Never had to shave.
02:52Never had to shower.
02:54There had no toiletries.
02:55The only time they ever got a shower or anything like that was when you went to hospital.
02:59And then the poor nurses just have to clean you up first.
03:02But it brings me bad memories, unfortunately.
03:09Yeah, sorry.
03:10For many, it's a way to honour those who fought and fell.
03:13To walk where heroes once stood, and understand their sacrifice.
03:16All right men, we're moving in five.
03:21Jack, are you good to walk?
03:27Mum always said courage isn't about not being scared.
03:29It's doing what you must, even if you are.
03:33You don't get scared.
03:36One thing you must do up there is you've got to control this.
03:41Otherwise it controls you.
03:43Once you can control your brain to do what you want to do, then walk.
03:48If anyone asks, tell them we fall like devils.
03:52Walked like brothers.
03:58Kokoda lives on, not just in the soil and trees, but in the stories.
04:02The silence and the souls who remember.
04:06Was there a moment on the track that changed you forever?
04:09Yes.
04:12I've been 25 white ladies.
04:15That's all I'll ever tell anyone.
04:19That changed my whole life every day.
04:24That's one thing upsets me all the time.
04:28Unfortunately.
04:33Lest we forget.
04:39?
04:48?
04:50?
04:51?
04:53?
