180 Jack Williams Lane Waipukurau, The new street sign for central Waipukurau
Reason for the name
This lane has been named in honour of Private John Stewart (Jack) Williams who was killed in action in Vietnam on 17 June 1969.
In Waipukurau, Jack attended Terrace School 1958 to 1962 and Central Hawkes Bay (CHB) College from 1963 to 1965.
He played rugby for CHB, and was a very good swimmer and a champion in the breaststroke in the CHB College swim champs. Jack was a member of the CHB Cross Country Club and competed in weekly events in Waipukurau and around Hawke’s Bay.
He was also a member of the local Small Bore Indoor Rifle Club. In addition, he was a member of the Waipukurau Municipal Brass Band and a budding cornet player.
He grew up in Waipukurau and joined the Regular Force Cadets in 1965. After postings to the National Service Training Unit (NSTU) Burnham and 1st Battalion Depot, he joined Victor Company the 1st Battalion NZ Regiment at Terendak, Malaysia in November 1968. A training accident prevented him from accompanying the main body of V4 Company to Vietnam in May 1969.
He re-joined 3 Platoon, V4 Infantry Company in Phuoc Tuy Province South Vietnam on 17 June 1969 during Operation Laverack. He was killed in action later that day 1969 with gunshot wounds to head and neck, when V4 encountered a large enemy bunker system.
He Toa Taumata Rau - Bravery has many resting places.
Author: Poppy Places Trust
Second repatriation of NZ military remains to begin
The process to return the remains of 28 defence personnel and one child from cemeteries in Malaysia and Singapore to this country will begin next week.
They included 27 soldiers who served in Vietnam and Malaysia, and one airforce officer. The child belonged to a member of the New Zealand Army serving in Malaysia at the time.
Remains of a total 36 military and their dependants are to be returned this year, including three who came home in early May from the Pacific.
It comes after a change in policy which allows for the return of military personnel and their dependants buried overseas between 1955 and 1971.
The remains of those being returned will be exhumed from Terendak Military Cemetery, Taiping Christian Cemetery and Cheras War Cemetery in Malaysia, as well as Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore.
A disinterment team consisting of bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists from New Zealand universities and defence force odontologists, or dentists, helped with the identification of the remains.
Once that was completed, New Zealand Defence personnel conducted a 24-hour vigil around the caskets until they were returned to New Zealand.
Private Williams was reinterred at Waipukurau on 25 Aug 2018.
