Exhibition Theme - Casualties

Battlefield burial of three NCOs

In a 1983 interview, Hele recollected: "My most moving event in New Guinea was with the 2/3rd [commando] mob and three of their NCOs that were killed and stretched out. I started drawing and it started to drizzle with rain and a couple of the other blokes, digging in madly, stopped and propped up a couple of sticks and put round a sheet over the top of me." The men were keen for him to record the incident.

Oil on canvas 76.3 x 91.6 cm
Painted in Aldinga, SA, 1944
Acquired under official war art scheme in 1944
Australian War Memorial
ART22560

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