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Translation (from Google)
French
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BREAKING NEWS IN AUSTRALIA
31 July 2008
Great War dead and mtDNA
Defence Science and Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon MP today announced the Australian and British governments have agreed to exhume and individually rebury missing Great War soldiers recently discovered at Pheasant Wood, although he appears to have stopped short of supporting their identification through DNA technology which is now widely available. MtDNA testing has now developed sufficiently to spur the ADF into constructing a voluntary human DNA database for military purposes as a means of identifying current members killed in accidents or on operations. Faced with major scientific advances concerning mitochondrial DNA, along with testing which can show the country of origin of skeletal remains in mass graves, the Federal Government should uphold international law relating to Australia's war dead as the forgotten soldiers at Fromelles deserve to be identified.
Visitors can post messages or comments in the Guestbook.
MISSING OF FROMELLES DISCUSSION GROUP
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In Memory of the Fallen: A German Death Card from WWI - Typical of cards printed to honour those who served their country and died. |
Fromelles will either define Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister of Australia and ensure his place in this country's military history, or it will imperil the vision of the Federal Labor Party which he leads, and show him to be just as conservative as his predecessor, particularly in the area of veterans' affairs and defence policy and how it relates to the recovery of missing armed forces personnel.
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Since the authorities seem so reluctant to give full effect to the Charter of the CWGC and the treaties negotiated to protect Australia's war dead and have actually worked to emasculate that organization, perhaps the British and Australian governments should now support the reinstatement of the corporations full powers or establish a new body to undertake investigation and recovery operations. Jointly funded, such a body could examine reports of war graves from past conflicts (particularly as there are suggestions that other Great War mass graves remain undiscovered on the Western Front), and search for the remains of the fallen as well as focus on their recovery, identification and reinterment.
Learn about the American JOINT POW-MIA ACCOUNTING COMMAND (JPAC) dedicated to the recovery and identification of the missing from past U.S. conflicts. Find JPAC.s Home Page at www.jpac.pacom.mil.
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Overview
THE MISSING SOLDIERS OF FROMELLES DISCUSSION GROUP
Dedicated to remembering and understanding the sacrifice of Australia's war dead during the Battle of Fromelles. We believe that when found the soldiers who vanished without trace after the ill-planned diversion at Fromelles, should be wrested from the ground and as a result, we intend to continue to lobby the Australian Government to achieve this goal. We recommend the Commonwealth War Graves Commission individually recover, identify where possible and rebury, the remains of these casualties, however lengthy and inconclusive the process. The Charter of the CWGC and the treaties it negotiated with affiliate nations since the end of the Great War, dictate this be done respectfully and earnestly and with the greatest reverence and dignity. We reserve the right to edit posts and contributions for content and length and request that all emailed comments are fairly presented and balanced. To further these goals and to help lobby for the application of world's best practice in forensic archaeology at Pheasant Wood, members offer the following contact details: Email info@FromellesDiscussionGroup.com, http://www.FromellesDiscussionGroup.com.
Media contact is welcome at media@FromellesDiscussionGroup.com, as is communication from relatives and descendants who might want to impart or exchange information, photographs and news.
VIEW AFFILIATE PROFILES & SUPPORTER LIST
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News
26 MAY 2008
WWI soldiers bodies found at Fromelles
Private military researcher Lambis Englezos' protracted lobbying with respect to suspected burial pits at Pheasant Wood has finally been vindicated. Latest news reports from the excavation, which is being supported by French and British authorities and a previously unheard of panel known as the Fromelles Evaluation Group (FEG), confirm that human remains have been found. Though not certain of the nationalities involved, Defence Science and Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon suggests the discovery yesterday morning, supports the contention that Australian soldiers are buried in this significant WWI battlefield and heritage site. Congratulatory messages or comments can be posted in the Guestbook.
20 MARCH 2008
Discovery of HMAS Sydney
PM Kevin Rudd led a service at Sydney's St. Andrews Cathedral on 16 March 2008 for the 645 men lost when HMAS Sydney was sunk 200 nautical miles off the WA coast on November 19, 1941 by the German raider Kormoran. Discovered by the Finding Sydney Foundation, 800 relatives and descendants of the Sydney's crew attended the memorial service. Although there had been some early criticism about the lack of information provided by Government and its disinclination to declassify all documents associated with the sinking, the HMAS Sydney II Association should be applauded for asking families from all HMAS Sydney ships to march on ANZAC Day.
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