W3 Company  - Oroua Downs pupils respond in poetry following a visit by Brigadier Torrance

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Oroua Downs School is on the Foxton Straight between Himatangi and Sanson near Palmerston North.  It has primary  students to Year 8 with a school roll of around 100.  Teacher Tanya Zander is studying 'heroes' with the school senior class [Years 7-8, between 11 & 13 years of age] and in May 2009 Brigadier Evan Torrance was invited to speak on the subject.  [Evan was chairperson of the Oroua Downs school board of trustees from 1992 until 1998.]

In proffering the student's poems Tanya commented "thank you for your kind offer of publishing the poems onto the website, that would be a real honour for the children and they are very excited.  Also they got a real buzz when they were told that you had forwarded their thoughts to Mr Anderson, they were so proud.  You have really made them feel very special and I thank you for that.  I have been really impressed on how the students have captured such graphic imagery, considering they are a generation that have grown up not experiencing war first hand."  
                  link to news item       link to all Peter Anderson poems

I think of them mostly every day
my mind’s stained with death
but I know it's for the best
I smell and see horrible things
I hear gunshots, my ear rings
but it is over and it's done
no need to hide, no need to run.

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By Baylee, Summer and Kane

Vietnam

Flown to Vietnam for a war
We didn’t really know about
As we got off the humidity is high
Hard to breath.                                                   

Setting up base camp
Ready to patrol the area
Cutting our way through the thick jungle
Getting dark fast because of the big tree canopy.

Resting for the night
Everyone tries to keep on the ground because
There are snakes and spiders.

Going back to base for the last BBQ
Remembering the people who died in W3 Company.
 

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By Orin, Khan and Temm

War time memories

Day after day
They marched on their way
Night after night
They slept in fright

But their sentry guns gave them some light
So they went to sleep that night
In the morning
The monsoon rain was pouring

They loaded their rifles
And their web and pack
And set off down the track
Wondering if they will make it back

All of a sudden
An enemy attack
They all survived except for three
What a tragedy

This poem is dedicated to them

By Taelah, Warwick & Nemesia

WAR

The devastating war came back to me so clear
Dead and wounded bodies lay all around everywhere
Insects mostly mozzies swarm all through the air
All the monsoon rain falls upon my head of hair
I hear the sound of gunshots all the way around
People call for help as they are being shot to the ground
The burning thirst goes down my throat
It seems to last forever
The leeches stick all down my legs
They stay close together
Now the war is over this is finally done
This dream has made it come back now
And now I’m back to step one.

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By Kelsi, Jamie, Todd

A Soldiers Pain

4.00 am. I was with my old platoon
As the helicopters were flying over dropping
The rations and ammunition,
My heart filled with fear.
The death defying screams still ring in my ears,
As do the gun shots and the commander giving out commands
I felt as though my mind would blow,
Filled with thoughts of home.
I felt as though my life would end
With every shot I heard.
And with the angry mozzies screams and the squirmy little leeches,
Still as vivid as if real.

The backpack on my shoulders
A rifle in my hand.
Going trough dense forest in this huge, distant place.
The terrible thirst burning in my throat
And the blast of claymore mines
Still blowing in my head
Is enough to make any man flinch
When cars backfire

As I wake up I realize it was just a dream
And I am home now
Glad to be free.

By Anglea, Josh and Janet

Heroes Pain

The gun shots are devastating
Noises rustle through the trees.
The leeches the mossies the yucky awful things.
People screaming, shouting everywhere
looking for someone to care.
Emotions fears in the air
Puddles of red blood stains
And really bad pain!

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 By Kate, Nathan and Hayden

Lonely Night

One lonely night in the middle of Vietnam.
There was no chance to keep calm.
There were gunshots going everywhere.
The smell of blood was in the air.
Although you really didn’t know what was there you had a feeling someone was there.
Then we heard someone yell there are enemies on the prowl.
Then we knew someone was there it gave us a bone chilling scare.
We turned around and ran  for our lives.
I don’t want to go back in this life.             

 By Sophie, Hayden and Legrand

The journey of War

When they go to sleep the nightmare begins
Emotions and fears fill their heart while they dream within
Experience and memories fill their mind and will be with them forever
While the war can bring people together
They hear sounds and whispers that only soldiers understand

As we walked, ran, swam through the river
We felt leeches and bugs sliming and slither
Blood stains and puddles flowing on the ground
Dead bodies and screams can sometime be found
As the war is ending and to find the world has left
All we know is that they tried their best

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