LIKE so many men of his vintage, Colin Moore doesn’t talk about the war often.
But on Remembrance Day this Sunday, Mr Moore will quietly reflect on his five years as a World War II soldier and honour friends lost along the way.
Only a few months short of 90, the lifelong Sunshine resident remains a strong and burly man.
His eyes drift off as he gently touches his war medals and talks about the years he spent posted in New Guinea, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
Mr Moore was just 18 when he packed his bag in 1941 and set off for New Guinea. He would not return to Sunshine until 1946.
“It was a different time then,” he says. “It was what young men did when they turned 18. I remember waiting for my 18th birthday so I could sign up to the army; it seemed like an adventure. If you weren’t at the war and you went to a town dance everybody would ask you when you were joining.”
Mr Moore says he remembers hiding in bushland as war planes flew over. “Even if it was one of our own you would still get a fright; that never stopped. It was war, there were daily moments of fear and plenty of times to feel afraid . . . but you had such good companions with you, you never felt alone.”
He says most nights he spent at war were under the stars.
“Wherever you lay down is where you slept and you would eat whatever food you could to stay alive. But when you were in a camp you could sleep in a tent and you would be fed well.” Mr Moore says he made many lifelong friends while at war. “We still see each other every Anzac Day and even though we live all over Victoria, we keep in contact . . . there are only five of us left now.”
The father of six, grandfather of 14 and great-grandfather of 16 plans to spend Sunday at Sunshine RSL.
