WWII horsemen step up for fallen mates

SEVEN World War II veterans will attend the dedication of the Park of the Australian Soldier at Beersheba in Israel next week - the site of a famous World War I battle involving Australian Light Horse regiments.

The World War II veterans, in their 80s, will attend as there are no surviving light horsemen from War World I.
The centrepiece of the Israel park is a sculpture of a light horseman leaping the trenches, designed by the Australian sculptor Peter Corlett.
It marks the charge of the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments against Turkish posts at Beersheba on October 31, 1917.
It will be dedicated by the Governor-General, Michael Jeffery, and the President of Israel, Shimon Peres. Alan Griffin, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, will also attend.
Dale Robertson, now 86, is one of the seven World War II veterans to attend the service in Beersheba. He served in Papua New Guinea and Bougainville for 12 months, beginning in 1944.
"I'm very, very honoured," he said. "Light Horsemen were all very close companions, [who] respected one another for their horsemanship and their abilities." Mr Robertson said they were mostly from the country and all had a very good sense of humour.
Mr Robertson enlisted in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment in 1940. It was the oldest regiment in Australia, Mr Robertson said, having begun as the Moreton regiment.
"They are men you must admire for their courage … we will never see [light horsemen from World War I] again in Australia," he said.
Mr Robertson has been a director of the Light Horse Association for 15 years. He says it is important for the Government to continue to recognise their unique contribution to Australia's war effort and that light horsemen should be allowed to march on Anzac Day like in other states. The party travelling to Israel will also attend an Anzac Day Dawn Service at Mt Scopus War Cemetery in Jerusalem.