Over at the World of Tanks website, Nicholas “The Chieftain” Moran has posted an article written by historian Ken Estes about the career and experiences of WW2 era Marine tanker Lt. Col. Rowland Hall.
Excerpt:
Anzac Day is a day of solemn commemoration in Australia and New Zealand. The last time I touched upon this was two years ago, with a bit of background, and then an overview of one of the feats of arms of the Australian forces: The Defense of Tobruk.
Those of you who have seen the miniseries The Pacific might remember an episode set in Melbourne. Australia’s role wasn’t just to send manpower and equipment to fight for the Crown. The country had a similar role in the South Pacific as the UK did in Europe: A bulwark to hold on the edge of the theater, a staging and training area for future operations, and a place for some R&R.
Some time ago, Ken Estes sent me an article for the Hatch: the reminiscings of Marine officer Rollo Hall. Rollo’s writings do not focus on Australia per se — they are his view of the war as a whole and of the development of the Marine Corps tank force, but the amount of words he wrote about his time in Australia is indicative of just how important the country was to the prosecution of the war for the US, both in practical terms for combat training, as well as the morale effect of cameraderie with allies. This should give something of a holistic view of the general environment. So, I hand the keyboard over to the late Rowland Hall.
Tank and AFV News 
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