The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (V47951) Sergeant Lyle Radford Hewitt, 1st Papuan Infantry Battalion, Second World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Troy Clayton, the story for this day was on (V47951) Sergeant Lyle Radford Hewitt, 1st Papuan Infantry Battalion, Second World War.

V47951 Sergeant Lyle Radford Hewitt, 1st Papuan Infantry Battalion
KIA 8 August 1942
Story delivered 15 June 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Lyle Radford Hewitt.

Lyle Hewitt was born in Melbourne on 21 March 1921, the second son of George and Elsie Hewitt. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, he worked as a painter.
He enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force on 30 July 1941 at Moonee Ponds. After five months of training he sailed for Port Moresby.

Hewitt arrived in Port Moresby in January 1942, and after a brief period in hospital and some extra training, marched out to join the 1st Papuan Infantry Battalion. Around the same time, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant.

On 21 July 1942 Japanese forces landed on Papuan territory around Buna. From this initial landing, Japanese forces would attempt to cross the Owen Stanley Range, south-west through Kokoda, and seize Port Moresby.

On the day of the landing, Hewitt was stationed with four Australian and 26 Papuan troops near the village of Ambasi on the Opi River. This small force was pitted against about 100 Japanese attackers who landed near Ambasi. In the confusion and against overwhelming odds, the survivors of the initial onslaught retreated inland to cover.

Hewitt retreated with four other Australian soldiers into the jungle, where over the coming days the group came across others escaping from the Japanese. Within days, their small party consisted of five Australian soldiers, five grounded American airmen, two of whom were badly wounded, and three Australian missionaries, Father James Benson, Mavis Parkinson and May Hayman.

The leader of the group, Lieutenant Arthur Smith, planned to lead the party over the Owen Stanley Range to Rigo, and from there to the relative safety of Port Moresby. On 8 August, the party had reached Dobodura, 60 kilometres east of Kokoda, when they came under attack from a Japanese ambush. The small group split up in the confusion: the five American airmen escaped the action and continued their journey, but were killed along the way. Father Benson was eventually captured by the Japanese and became a prisoner of war. Mavis Parkinson and May Hayman were also captured, but were executed in a coffee plantation days later. Lieutenant Smith was executed after having been captured while looking for the missionaries.

Lyle Hewitt, who was just 21 years old, was killed during the initial ambush.

He was originally reported missing, and his anguished family worried greatly about the fate of their son. It was not until November 1943, over a year after the event, that they received confirmation of their son’s death.

His body, once found and identified, was eventually laid to rest in Bomana War Cemetery at Port Moresby under the simple epitaph: “Ever remembered”.
His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Sergeant Lyle Radford Hewitt, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section