HMAS ARMIDALE REMEMBERED
75 years ago the H-M-A-S Armidale was sunk at the hands of the Japanese.
Today the Australian Navy, relatives of survivors and Armidale locals gathered to commemorate the ship.
Wreathes were laid in memory of relatives who did not return.
Among those remembered, Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean, who at just 18 years of age was remembered for standing firm until his dying breaths as Japanese aircrafts bombed the HMAS Armidale.
“He shot down one aircraft and then remained at his post fighting off the rest to keep them from his mates as the ship sank beneath him. He was last seen at his post and continuing to fight even as he slipped beneath the waves,” Captain Ainsley Morthorpe, Australian Navy.
Of the 140 crew and soldiers on board just 40 survived.
(AUDIO IN PARTS ONLY)