ANZAC DAY 2019: WELDCLASS CNC PLASMA DONATES $500 TO MALUK TIMOR

WHY DONATE ON ANZAC DAY?

Last Anzac day, SUREFIRE CNC donated $500 to Legacy Australia, to support Aussie veterans and their families.

It seemed a fitting way to celebrate Anzac day and remember the sacrifice of those that have defended and protected Australia through the years.

This year we wanted to do something similar… so we went digging for inspiration and came across the incredible (but not so well-known) story of 2/2 Commandos in Timor during WW2.

THE AMAZING STORY OF AUSTRALIA’S FIRST COMMANDOS:

Months before the Kakoda campaign in New Guinea, the 2/2 Commandos become the first Australian troops to halt the Japanese Advance.

Stationed in Timor, only 270 men from the 2nd/2nd remained fighting after the Japanese invaded Timor, February 1942.

What followed was in incredible story of courage and survival as these men not only evaded the Japanese for over 12 months, but waged a successful guerrilla campaign that inflicted heavily losses on an enemy that numbered up to 10,000 men.

DIGGERS AND TIMORESE SIDE-BY-SIDE

The 2/2 Commandos owed their lives and success to the incredible support that the people of Timor gave to them.

As one of the commandos later stated; “You could never repay them, if it hadn’t been for them none of us would have come back. At any moment, if they had turned [betrayed us], we would not have lasted a week up there.”

This did not come without cost to the Timorese. Treated harshly by the Japanese for their support of the Allies, tens of thousands of Timorese lost their lives during the Japanese occupation of their island.

$500 TOWARDS IMPROVING LIVES IN TIMOR

Inspired by this story, this Anzac day we decided to find a way to give back to the people of Timor.

We found Maluk Timor. A fantastic charity – registered in Australia – that is devoted to providing the people of Timor-Leste with basic health care services.

All the best to Maluk Timor – please join us in supporting them!