Solemn Seas for Warramunga
HMAS Warramunga transited the Sunda Strait on Remembrance Day, where Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth I was lost in 1942..
Ship’s company fell silent to reflect on the loss and the sound of the engines and the crashing of the waves could be heard.
Commanding Officer Warramunga, Commander Dugald Clelland led the at sea commemoration.
“We are within 17 nautical miles of where HMAS Perth I, was lost and 375 of her 680 strong crew,” he said.
“We pause and remember them and reflect on the important role Navy continues to have in service to our nation.”
Perth I, the American heavy cruiser USS Houston and a major Imperial Japanese Navy task force were involved in the Second World War action.
Both Allied ships and five Japanese ships were sunk.
Those who survived became Japanese prisoners of war. Of those captured, nearly one in three men died before they were
liberated in 1945.
For Leading Seaman Naval Police Coxswain Jamie Janes, being in the same area that Perth I was lost on Remembrance Day was very moving.
“Remembrance Day invokes a sense of sadness in me as we reflect on those who have made the ultimate sacrifice protecting their country and those that they love,” she said.
“As a third generation Navy member, I feel a great sense of pride, knowing the history that my family has been part of and that I in turn now contribute to,” Leading Seaman Janes said.
Warramunga is approaching the end of a seven-month overseas deployment, which has seen her build on relationships with nations including the United States, Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam.
