During World War Two, Trooper Al Gofrey promised his three friends, Doug Tatti, Ben Lappin and Jack Dillon that he would fly the Australian flag for them and remember their names for the rest of his life.
Al is no longer alive, but his smiling face in his driveway under the flag he loved and his friends’ names can be seen at Air Kaca in Morotai, an island on which Al served as a water carrier in 1945.
Geoff Fox, December 7, 2025, Melbourne, Australia
My late friend Al Godfrey served in the same battle as my father, “Rick” Fox in World War Two: the second Battle Of Balikpapan.
Al had a feeling that he met Dad then. So he asked me to combine an image of my dad with a photo of himself. Al is at the wheel of 1945 corvette HMAS Castlemaine. I added my dad in his youth in his AIF uniform.
Standing next to the artwork is young Ghifary Buamona, whose mother Anna established this art display before dying tragically young at 38 years of age on May 16 this year. The artwork in the background shows Douglas MacArthur and family celebrating victory.
This art display is at Indonesia’s national heritage register site Air Kaca at Morotai. The water there is so pure and clear that Douglas MacArthur built his wife a bathroom there.
Lest We Forget
Geoff Fox, December 7, 2025, Melbourne, Australia
ART IN INDONESIA 