The above plaque in the Smith Street Mall showing obvious signs of wear , some of the text hard to read . An adjoining sign , easy to read, lists Darwin's sister cities.
On a day when the Darwin newspaper ran a front page story about United States Marines in the city , the Esplanade memorial to the men who lost their lives on the USS Peary , overlooking the harbour , where ships were bombed in the first Japanese raid , was showing signs of neglect, a clump of weeds at the base of a gun off the warship, near a plaque listing the names of the victims .
An empty liquor can was nearby , cigarette butts and other litter visible . The adjoining information sign about the bombing , featuring a photograph of marine salvage diver , Carl Atkinson , onetime owner of the wrecks , showed him posing with a wheel off the Peary, was missing some of the plastic covering , presenting a blotchy, unsatisfactory image for a major war memorial .
President Obama placed a wreath at this memorial in November 2011 in honour of the 88 men who died aboard the destroyer, including the Commanding Officer , Lieutenant Commander Bermingham. He also spoke to Australian and Japanese veterans and members of their families.
The photographs shown here were taken a short time before Anzac Day when you would expect all war memorials would have been checked , especially with the arrival of US Marines given so much media coverage.
Near the Uniting Church is another war memorial which includes a large tombstone with a message in Japanese, provided by the Fujita Salvage Company , which salvaged the wartime wrecks , and part of a blade off the the propeller off the USAF Meigs , that was sunk in the raid. Discarded food containers were sighted nearby.
Many of the plaques , enhanced samples above , near the main Cenotaph , setting out the involvement of various units in wars , are hard to read , need refurbishing . The care and respect of war memorials in Australia needs a close examination and real action . Councils and Service organisations need to combine on this important subject .
Years ago , this writer pointed out there were major spelling errors in the Darwin Cenotaph and it took a long time for the situation to be corrected .
