Andrew Austin: Time to salute a true hero

Henry Edward (Harry) Carver.

I don't think there were many people who would not have been moved by the superb obituary to Dannevirke man Harry Carver.

Well written by our Dannevirke News chief reporter Christine McKay, the tribute to Henry Edward Carver appeared in yesterday's Hawke's Bay Today.

By all accounts, Mr Carver, who died at the ripe old age of 100 at Eileen Mary Rest Home last Friday, was a wonderful character. One hundred years is a long time and it certainly seems happiness far outweighed any sadness and adversity. This is not meant to minimise what he went through, but instead it elevates him to the level of a person who overcame severe trauma and was never defeated by what he went through.

For me, probably one of the best tributes to Mr Carver came from his grandson David.

"He was content to sit on the porch with a cup of tea drinking in the tranquillity. When he passed, we lost a legend. He was my hero. He survived things we can only imagine."

And he is right, Mr Carver did go through horrors in World War II that normal people have no concept of. You see, Mr Carver survived three-and-a-half years of torture and starvation as a Japanese prisoner of war. The amazing thing is that he lived to tell the tale and to go on to have a full life of about 70 years, more than some people do.

In a world where plastic people like the Kardashians hijack celebrity status through sad public posturing, it is a privilege to acknowledge and salute a true hero.

Rest in Peace Henry Edward Carver.