Extraordinary lives are often lived by ordinary people. A dairy farmer by trade, Keith Virtue, joined the army at the age of 20 - a young man joining to fight in World War II.
Born and bred in Moss Vale, Mr Virtue said he joined because it was the right thing to do. Like any good story of a life lived well there are tales of hardship, adversity and, of course, a little bit of Aussie larrikinism.
Before setting off to war, he was in training at an army camp near Newcastle and, like many young men of his age, he had a sweetheart, Mab. Before he left for overseas they were to be married on February 28, 1942.
Usually it is pretty much fixed that the bride and groom are a certainty on their wedding day, but this was wartime. Mr Virtue had made sure he could get leave to come home and get married; all the arrangements had been made for the reception and then, two days before the wedding, all leave was cancelled.
Mr Virtue talked quickly and convincingly, with his commanding officer saying, “I will go back and have another go at the old boy”. Whatever words were said must have been compelling, with the colonel of the battalion allowing him to return home, but he only had three days.
Remembering his wedding day like it was yesterday, Mr Virtue said with a chuckle that he arrived home to Moss Vale at 1am in the morning.
“My then to be brother-in-law met me in Moss Vale,” he said.
“Petrol was scarce; they couldn’t come and get me in the car, even though they had one, because they didn’t have enough petrol. He bought two pushbikes in on a milk lorry, so I rode a damn pushbike home at 1am in the morning.”
“Anyway I got married at 9am, had the reception, and we went to Sydney and had a one-night honeymoon. Then I had to be in camp the next night.
“That was because I thought we were leaving for overseas. I went back and we sat around for two weeks. I was really cranky.”
During the next couple of weeks, the training became harder as the men were toughened up for their posting.
Marching many miles, in stifling heat, the men weren’t allowed any water or to have anything to eat. Discomfort was joked about with all the men getting large blisters on their feet and saying that the mosquitos were big enough to carry a person away.
Then came the call Sitting down having a smoko on the side of the road, Mr Virtue said the trucks came along to take them back to camp in Newcastle. They were given four days leave and then they were off, heading for New Guinea on an old Dutch boat.
Mr Virtue said they didn’t know it at the time, but there were four Jap subs between Sydney and Newcastle.
“I only learnt this recently,” he said.
“The Japanese saw us go out, they let us go because they wanted something else in Sydney Harbour.”
At sea for more than three weeks, 1000 men were on what Mr Virtue described as “an old rust bucket, an old cargo ship. If you had thrown a rock at it, it would have gone through”.
For the full story see the Southern Highland News, Wednesday, May 28
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