How would I have I have felt if I were there?

 

If I was in Darwin on the 19th of February 1942 by Charlotte Lockwood

Throughout the trip I would think of questions as to if I was in Darwin on the 19th of February 1942. How I would have felt if I were there? How would I have felt if I were on the Neptuna as I was getting bombed? How would I have felt if I saw the enemy planes flying over and bombs falling from the sky? How would I have felt if one of my family members was lost in the bombing?

On the final night, we went to the gun from the Peary and looked out over the harbour. This moment had a large impact on me because it signified how much we had learnt on the trip. On the first day, we did the same thing stood at the gun and looked over the harbour, but it wasn’t very impacting because we didn’t know much. That final night looking out I was able to answer so many of the questions I had thought to myself throughout. How would I have felt if I was there? I would have been terrified. Seeing the bombs falling, shrapnel flying, the anguish, distress, and destruction.

At the royal flying doctor’s Museum, there was a VR experience that took you through Darwin Harbour as it was being bombed. It put you on the Neptuna as it was being blown up, in a plane shooting down the enemy and, on the wharf, watching the destruction occur. How would I have felt if I was on the Neptuna as it was getting bombed and seeing the enemy planes dropping bombs? I would have felt unprepared and frightened, but I believe that I would have also felt content knowing that I was going to die fighting for my country in my country.

I think that I can safely say that visiting the Adelaide River War Cemetery largely impacted everyone. The service person I researched was Cecil Grant Cross who was an engineer who died when Neptuna got bombed. He was 21. Although he has no known grave, he is commemorated on a plaque at the cemetery. Although I am not related to him in any way, sitting at his memorial impacted me because it was the moment in the trip when I realised that these are all real people, with some of them only being one or two years older than me when they died. Since he was so young when he died and only served for 11 months, there is very little documentation on him. The cemetery showed me the importance of documenting the lives of those who fought for us because although they may not have served for as long or have as many accomplishments as others, they all sacrificed the same amounts to save us. How would I have felt if one of my family members were lost in the bombing? Although I would have felt devastated, broken and maybe even angry, I believe that I would have also felt proud and a real sense of patriotism because I know how much they gave to fight for us. I also believe that if I had lost someone in the bombing, knowing that there was a group of 15/16-year-olds who were so enthusiastic about commemorating those who were lost even though they didn’t even know them would make me excited knowing that these stories won’t be forgotten.

This trip showed me how grateful I am to live in a country who have such a strong defence force and allies. I am also grateful that we have the opportunity to go on trips to learn about our history. All we had to do to come on this trip was to write a biography to commemorate someone who served us and from that, we got the opportunity to gain rare historical knowledge and experience things most never will get to.