Australian War Memorial

And, of course, we're driving up on the Thursday night this time.

Yes, because we're planning on spending the day at the Australian War Memorial.

All Friday at the Australian War Memorial.

I know there's one or two people who will probably meet up with us up there.

Yes, yeah.

I was thinking show is not the museum.

Oh, the show's in Canberra.

But then in Canberra, you've got the Australian War Memorial, which is just second to none worldwide.

Not only had it not been told, it actually hadn't even been collected.

So the Australian War Memorial, which was the obvious place to go, didn't even have a collection.

And they turned around to us and said, oh, look, would you do it? We'll give you some money.

Unbelievably, $40,000 in early 1980s was a lot of money.

And

we need to remember, if anybody wants an example of why we should be defending this, go to the Australian War Memorial and walk those corridors

and

see all those names of those 103,000 men and women who died protecting our country.

I met Hazel during the Kangaroo March centenary reenactment of 2015 and where she helped us as she was in charge of the floristry section of CIT in Canberra.

And her students did a beautiful floral display for a big dinner under G for George at the Australian War Memorial for the... for the kangaroo march and at the end of that her and I had struck up a bit of a friendship and she said OJ I know you work with the poppy as a flower of remembrance with what you do with veteran children and veteran families and remembrance and you're a commemorative choir I've got another flower that you might be interested in and that started a beautiful journey of over a decade of following that work and that emerging work and uh So it's an absolute honour to have been part of this and, you know, along with lots and lots of beautiful elders around the country and their guidance and, you know, Hazel has very much, you know, been a cultural guide in all of this and it's finally here.

And it's taken a journey.

I mean, mostly in the music industry, you have a song and then...

Welcome to Through Their Eyes.

To help us understand the stories you're about to hear, we're joined by Michael Bell, the AWM's Indigenous Liaison Officer.

Michael's work focuses on researching, recognising and sharing the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicemen and women.

We asked him to set the scene for us.

I wanted to get up.

I had my head in the clouds.

You're hearing Len's own voice from an oral history recorded by the AWM in June 1993, just over two months before his passing.

It's a remarkable part of the memorial's collection, preserving his memories and helping us understand the man behind the legacy.

And then we come to the 7th of November 1942.

The official Australian War Memorial record lists Joe's death as occurring and popular on that date.

The Kokoda Track Memorial walkways research records that Joe suffered a wound to the head.

He received medical treatment, but later that day, Private Yosef Rovkin died of his wounds.

I find that incredibly moving because in death, the identity he had hidden in order to serve was restored.

Ravkin, the star of David, his parents, his sisters, his family, his story.

He's also remembered on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour and at Jewish War Memorials in Australia and at the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway in Sydney.

That plaque from his Alpha Company mates keeps another part of his identity alive, his true age, 16.

Man, what a find.

This led to extensive archival research over a two-year period at the Australian War Memorial and elsewhere, and a personal voyage of discovery.

He's married with three adult children and lives in Melbourne.

Imagine discovering that and going through all the old letters.