Saturday, November 1, 2014

BELATED AMERICAN WAR MEDAL

Continuing, condensed  biography of Crusading Editor,"Big Jim" Bowditch  by  Peter Simon

In a surprise event in 1995,  Bowditch was informed he was entitled to the  American  Bronze Star   for his wartime service.  Strangely ,  the Americans had not been able to track him down , despite his  fame in Australia as a fighting  editor  involved  in  international news  stories and was even well known to ASIO . The  failure to track him down may have been due   to  the  contact address for his mother ,  next of kin in  England ,   had  changed .  When he  joined  the  Australian Army he  had given  her address  as   173 Half  Way  Street , Sidcup,  Kent. It had changed to  38 Belmont  Park, Lewisham.  

 His  whereabouts  became  known  when  Professor  Alan Powell of  what was  then the    Northern Territory  University,  studying  wartime  archives in America  , came across  mention  of   Bowditch . Powell  told  the  Americans  the  missing  Sergeant   Bowditch was  alive  and  living  in  Darwin. The  citation  which  went  with  the   medal  said  Sergeant  Bowditch   had  shown  a  sense  of loyalty  and  ability  to  carry  out  any task  given  him  with  a  complete  disregard  for  personal  safety  while  working  with  American  forces .  At  a  special  ceremony  in  Darwin  at  the Larrakeyah  Army  Barracks  Museum    on  September  26  l995 , the  US  Defence  Attache  to Canberra, Colonel  Stephen  Barneyback , presented  Bowditch   with  the  medal .

Colonel  Barneyback  was   accompanied   by  Sergeant  Drew  Holliday  who  specialised  in  tracking  down  undiscovered  recipients  of  American  medals.   Sergeant   Holliday   told  Bowditch he  was receiving the   medal  during the  50th anniversary  of  Victory in  the  Pacific. 

Near  the  end  of  his  life,  Bowditch   would  go  to  the  ANZ  bank  at the Casuarina  shopping centre  , cash  a  cheque  into  five dollar  bills , go  outside and  give the money  away  to   passers-by  who he  thought   were “ doing  it  tough ”. 
 
Once  the  money was  gone, he  would  return  to  the  bank , cash  another  cheque  and  repeat  the  performance.    A   bank  teller  rang  his  daughter,  Ngaire , and  expressed  concern .  The bank  staff  were worried  that  he  could  be “rolled ”  as  he   walked  about  with  a bundle of  five dollar  bills in  his  hand .  Ngaire  discussed  the  situation  with  her father ; he  responded  by  saying  he  was  working  to   assist  the  poor , and  that  it  was  “my  job” to   hand  out  money  to  those  in  need. 
 
“ My  father  was  always  a   kind  and  generous  man ,” said  Ngaire, “ so  it  didn’t  surprise  me  that  he  was  giving  his  money  away.   I  guess  with  the  onset  of  dementia  it  was  quite reasonable for  a  compassionate man  like  my  father  to  see  this as  his  work  and  social duty.  The  bank   said  his  largesse  left  little  money  in  his  account upon  which to  live ; it   had  also  feared  that  people  would  take  advantage  of   him . ”