Ambassador Kennedy thanked Solomon Scouts who saved her father

 THE selfless service and sacrifice of the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers were acknowledged during the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal, Sunday. 

US Ambassador to Australia and daughter of John F. Kennedy made this statement during the dawn service at Skyline Ridge yesterday (Sunday 7th August 2022). 

“Because of the selfless service and sacrifice of the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers, the Allies were able to hold Guadalcanal. 

“And because of Guadalcanal, the Allies achieved victory in the Pacific,” Ambassador Kennedy said. 

She also took the opportunity to thank two Solomon Islander Scouts – Biaku Gasa and Eroni Kumana – who saved her father’s life. 

“While we all owe a debt of gratitude to the Solomon Islanders who risked their lives during the Pacific Campaign, my family and I owe a personal debt of gratitude to two Solomon Islander Scouts — Biaku Gasa and Eroni Kumana – who saved my father’s life. 

“Thanks to them, he and his crew survived the sinking of PT-109 and were able to return home and eventually run for President,” she said. 

She said her father’s experiences on Guadalcanal made him the man and the leader that he was, just as the experiences of so many others shaped the men and women they would become. 

“It resolved him to seek a more peaceful and just world, and he gave his life for his country. 

“I’m deeply touched to be here today, knowing that I might not be here if it were not for Biaku Gasa and Eroni Kumana,” Ms Kennedy said yesterday. 

“I look forward to returning to Solomon Islands with my children and showing them this part of our family history – which is so closely intertwined with this country – and telling them about the partnership we’ve shared with Solomon Islanders in years since the war. 

She added that countless Americans and Allied families have Solomon Islanders to thank for their survival. 

“We’re here today not only to express our gratitude to those who sacrificed during the war, but also to those who established peace and worked for the years and decades that followed to bring our nations closer. 

 “It’s our way to honour those who came before us and to work and do our best to leave a legacy for those who follow,” she said. 

Ambassador Kennedy is part of the US delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Solomon Islands to honour those who fought the Battle of Guadalcanal during the Second World War. 

Ambassador Caroline Kennedy Presents a Replica

 US new ambassador to Australia Ambassador Caroline Kennedy (The only surviving daughter of the late president of the USA, President John F Kennedy) presented a replica; copy of the coconut husk to John Kolono and Nelma Ane during her visit to Solomon Island.

 

During the presentation, Caroline Kennedy reviewed that She and her late father owed a personal debt of gratitude to two Solomon Islander Scouts — Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana – who saved my father’s life.

 She thanked them, he and his crew survived the sinking of PT-109 and were able to return home and eventually run for President.

 “I’m deeply touched to be here today, knowing that I might not be here if it were not for Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana.

 The meeting between Caroline Kennedy with the children of the two men that saved her father during the war in the Pacific moved everyone.

 She also presented the pair and others with medals, for supporting the Australian World War II coast watcher presence in the Solomon Islands.

 Kumana and Gasa encountered JFK, then a 26-year-old naval officer, and his crew in 1943 when JFK's boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer.

 JFK led his remaining 10 crew members in a week-long fight for survival, swimming to a series of tiny deserted islands.

 Kumana and Gasa took a message from JFK written on a coconut husk to the nearest Allied base 35 miles away, which had them rescued.

 “I’m honored and proud of my dad, and I’m happy to receive on behalf of him. I wish he was here to receive this medal,” Koloni said.