Norm under fire

By Melissa Meehan
IT was a classic mistake by a young recruit.
Faced with heavy gunfire from the Japanese
for the first time, a young Norm Joseph was
startled by the attack, having only recently fall
en asleep in his trench after night watch.
“I remember it being very loud, they (the
Japanese soldiers) were very loud,” Norm said.
“They were firing away at us and the old Dig
ger I was paired with tells me to start throwing
our grenades at them – so here I am throwing as
many as I could, when the Digger turns around
to me and says ‘You fool, you’ve got to pull the
pin out.’ ”
It’s a classic Aussie Digger yarn, with fear
and humour mixed in the memory.
“I think it’s really important that the
younger generation understands what we went
through to ensure this country is the way it is
today,” Norm said.
“For a long time, no-one spoke about it –
including myself. But now, more than ever it’s
important we tell our stories.”
Another story Norm shares with those on
his school visits includes the story of “Gunner”.
“During the first raid on Darwin, Japanese
forces bombed airfields with heavier fire than
that at Pearl Harbour,” Norm said.
“In the process of the bombing some of the
guys found that a dog had been hit, so they took
him to the Medical Officer who said he was too
busy dealing with enlisted members who had
been hit. So they went and enlisted the dog.”
Once his wounds healed, Gunner’s ability to
warn troops about an imminent air raid was
soon noticed. Norm said two to three hours
before Japanese bombers arrived, Gunner
would run around like crazy.
“Notice was taken of that, it gave time for us
to go out and meet them,” he said.
“Sure enough, as soon as he went crazy they
would sound the air raid siren.”
These stories formed an important part of
Australian war history, and Norm said if shar
ing his stories got a few to sign up in the future
he was doing his job.