105 years after his death, Israeli group begins search for Australian soldier
A group of 30 Israelis has set out on a journey in southern Israel to find the burial place of an Australian soldier killed in battle 105 years earlier as the British Empire tried to gain control of the Middle East from the Ottoman Empire, the Walla news website reported on Wednesday.
A colourized image of Loudern Park Cochrane. Photo: Virtual War Memorial Australia
Louden Park Cochrane, a native of Ireland, was 24 at the time of his death. He was buried by fellow soldiers and a priest, who took a photograph next to his grave and even wrote down directions to it, although they have proven to be difficult to decipher.
Shortly after Cochrane’s death, his mother sent a letter to the Australian military asking for information on her son’s burial place, but efforts to locate it were unsuccessful.
Ninety-nine years after that request, a group of Israeli citizens took up the search, after a relative of Cochrane’s contacted Kibbutz Ruhama in northern Israel.
Gan Erez, who organized the search efforts, said, “For me it’s such an obvious thing, I don’t understand why some ask us why we are making such an effort. If it was Eli Cohen, Ron Arad or Guy Hever [MIA Israeli soldiers], nobody would be surprised by our strong desire to find them. For me, this is a soldier who fought for the liberation of the land of Israel, and we need to find his burial place
Israeli and Australian officials have also joined the search effort including Australia‘s Defence Attaché to Israel.
Australia has deep historical ties to Israel going back over a century. We are grateful for this investment in our shared heritage and thank all those who participated in the search.
While the volunteers have not yet located the gravesite, Erez remains optimistic.
“We will find the grave, we will not give up.”
(Israel Hayom via JNS)
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.
would love to have more information about this- how do we contact to provide assistance?