Colorized by me: Australian soldier, Private George "Dick" Whittington, being aided by Papuan orderly Raphael Oimbari near Buna on 25 December 1942. Whittington died in February 1943 from typhus. 
Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels was the name given by Australian soldiers to Papua New Guinean war carriers who, during World War II, were recruited to bring supplies up to the front and carry injured Australian troops down the Kokoda trail during the Kokoda Campaign.
📸 George Silk
📸 George Silk
In June 1942, Australian Major General Basil Morris issued an "Employment of Natives Order", which allowed native Papuans to be recruited as carriers for three years.
Between August and December that year, around 16,000 Papuans were recruited, often with false promises such as a shorter period of service or a less difficult working condition. On some occasions, the Papuans were forced into service.
As one Australian digger has noted: “they carried stretchers over seemingly impassable barriers, with the patient reasonably comfortable. The care they give to the patient is magnificent. If night finds the stretcher still on the track, they will find a level spot...
... and build a shelter over the patient. They will make him as comfortable as possible fetch him water and feed him if food is available, regardless of their own needs.
They sleep four each side of the stretcher and if the patient moves or requires any attention during the night, this is given instantly. These were the deeds of the "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels" – for us!”
In 2009, the Australian government began awarding the 'Fuzzy Wuzzy Commemorative Medallion' to living Papua New Guineans who assisted the Australian war effort, usually bringing survivors and their families to Port Moresby for ceremonial presentations.
Australian veterans generally complained that the recognition was too little, too late.
(source: wiki)
(source: wiki)
"(...) Nonetheless many worked until they dropped. It is said that no living soldier was ever abandoned by the carriers, not even during heavy combat."
kokodahistorical.com.au/history/fuzzy-…
kokodahistorical.com.au/history/fuzzy-…
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