The Leader Newspaper // Special Features ANZAC Day 2019 Supplement | Page 3
COMMEMORATING ANZAC
Lance has fond memories of WWII service
By Ella Pryor
Sitting in his room at the Trevu House Aged Care
Home in Gawler, Lance Dahlitz, formerly of Tanunda,
can proudly look at his certificate of service and
medals hanging up on the wall.
The certificate and medals holding both very fond
memories of World War II and some he would much
rather forget.
Lance joined the army on September 13, 1942,
starting in the 2/10 infantry battalion and working
his way up to corporal.
Before his time in the army, Lance worked in
Adelaide at the Savings Bank.
He’d finished working there and all of his mates
had joined the army, so Lance thought ‘why not’
and away he went.
He was just 19 at the time.
In uniform that afternoon, Lance picked up all his
tools from the bank, dropped them home, told his
parents and off he went.
Lance was based at Sandy Creek for a few weeks
and spent one day at a rifle range in Gillman, which
is all the training he had.
After a couple weeks in Melbourne, Lance and
the crew were on a boat to New Guinea.
Lance explained they ‘had a pretty rough time’ in
New Guinea but got through alright.
After a stint back to Queensland they got sent
back to New Guinea again.
There they then flew over Ramu Valley, once again
coming out of it okay.
When Lance was home the second time, he
married his late wife, Elva.
After their marriage, Elva became ill with a burst
appendicitis.
Lance’s leave ran out two days before Elva came
out of hospital!
He was then posted to Borneo, where once again
the soldiers had a tough time.
On November 26 once the war had finished, Lance
was immediately dispatched home.
Lance explained that as far as his service in the
war is concerned, it was a lot of fun and also a lot of
‘not so much fun’ - but to him that’s just how it went.
“Lots of things you prefer to forget and war movies
you don’t like watching,” said Lance.
“I don’t talk about it much. A lot of people do
and a lot of people don’t. I’ll admit there’s so many
good times we have and you can talk about them
for hours. There’s many good memories but all me
mates are gone now.”
One fond memory that Lance recalls from his time
at World War II was when he and the ‘lads’ were out
on a walk in Balikpapan, Borneo to see if any ‘Japs’
were still about.
They came across a motocart, and one of the
men got it going.
Two days later people came around and said ‘you
and your boys have a motocart’.
“I said yeah so what, we found it and we’re going
to have it. They said unfortunately for you we want
it,” laughed Lance.
“I said well too bad the bloke that took it for us
isn’t here, but he was sitting right next to me! I said
come back in the morning.
“That night at midnight up she went. If we couldn’t
have it they weren’t having it!”
He also laughed as he recalled that some days
they’d be short of money, and although he knows
it was wrong to do, one of the lads would jump out
the march and go into the shop.
They would get whatever they want and hand
over a two pound note, arguing that it was a 10!
“Lots of cheeky things went on. Some got away
with it and some got kicked out the door,” chuckled
Lance.
After the war, Lance and Elva ‘had a very good life’.
They spent 14 years in Tanunda, before moving
to Murray Bridge for 50 years.
The couple then moved to Gawler about 10 years
ago, but unfortunately Elva passed away around
eight years ago.
To Lance, it’s been a hard road since then.
Lance is grateful that he’s made good contacts
with people he hadn’t seen for many years back at
the Tanunda RSL, and he hopes to continue to be a
good member there.
“I’m wheelchair bound out of this home and can’t
get around like I used to, but that’s the way life goes,”
said Lance.
Lance Dahlitz, Gawler with his certificate of service and medals.
Lest We Forget
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With the kind assistance of the participating businesses, The Leader has been able to provide a generous donation to the local RSL sub branches
“The Leader”, Commemorating ANZAC, Wednesday, April 17, 2019 - 3