“If I could speak for him, he’s hugely excited but, obviously, there’s a sense of sadness as well when he goes back into those war cemeteries, and particularly to Cassino itself.”
Special connection
Included in the travel group are whānau of fallen soldiers from A and B Company and solicitor David Stone, who has been on a mission to repatriate medals to whānau of Māori Battalion soldiers.
“Everyone’s got a special connection,” Rolleston says.
“[For] myself, I had three grand-uncles that fought there, but everyone in the delegation has got some special connection to Cassino.”
Discussions with the town and its mayor on approvals for the pou will happen for this trip, with the hope of having the pou approved and erected during the 80th anniversary next year.
“To the best of my knowledge, it’s a 7.6-metre pou. All of the designs and planning have been done here... [the discussions] really around the approval.
“We’ve got to remember, [Cassino] is going to be the kaitiaki of it, so we’re making sure that it’s done properly and Uncle [Bom] has some ideas on what that might look like as well.
“It’s probably more a kōrero around how it might happen, but I know from an Aotearoa point of view, [we’re] ready, willing and able when the green light goes to have it ready for May 2024.”
Previously published on Te Ao Māori News.
