The town of Fromelles in northern France has paid tribute to nine Australian soldiers who fell on its soil in 1916. The Battle of Fromelles was the bloodiest 24 hours in Australia's military history. The remains of 250 Australian and British soldiers were recovered from mass graves at Pheasant Wood in 2009. Nine soldiers identified earlier this year have now been formally farewelled. The children of Fromelles placed white roses in front of tombstone inscriptions at the Fromelles Military Cemetery. Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, Senator David Feeney, says DNA technology is helping give names to the fallen soldiers. "On the 96th anniversary of when they hopped the backs, we can finally honour these nine brave men," he said. It was a moving experience for Peter Wynn, the great nephew of Private John Cyrill Wynn. "It's been a long journey. You know we've all come together as a family to be able to share this moment," Peter Wynn said. "It may be one we'll never forget, it'll last with me forever and it's nice to have made some sort of contribution." Peter Wynn's DNA and that of his brother Graeme played an integral role in their great uncle's identification. "All of a sudden they rang me from England and said Peter it's positive, it's positive and that was a real moment I'll never forget; that phone call where they said look, that's your great uncle laying at Fromelles," Peter Wynne said. "And that was the start of the journey to make plans to come across to this amazing ceremony." Daron Johnson's DNA helped identify his great uncle. Through a pilgrimage to Fromelles he is also learning about the sacrifice other members of his family made in the world wars, like his grandfather. "He won a military medal. I think he took a bunker out and that's what he won the medal in. But he was a bit of a larrikin too and did a few AWOLs," he said. Nineteen Australian soldiers now have their names on tombstones at Fromelles. DNA testing will continue for another two years to identify their unnamed comrades. http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/latest/14322334/fallen-diggers-honoured-in-fromelles/ 5533 Australians became casualties during the battle (hence worst 24 hours in Australia's military history. That's thought to be about as many casualties as Australia suffered in the Boer War, Korean War and Vietnam War combined). As a side note, it's believed that Hitler may have taken part in the battle.
