Among Illawarra singer Christine Anu's most treasured possessions are a picture of her grandfather while serving on Horn Island during World War II and his medals that were awarded posthumously.
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Ms Anu's grandfather Nadi, who was an Indigenous man from the Torres Strait, was stationed at the island airbase before he and five men volunteered for an SS crew. They travelled on an army barge called the Rosemary into Papua New Guinea after receiving intelligence a Japanese ship would raid Australia.
The crew, guided by local people, went up the Merauke River and intercepted the barge on December 22, 1943.
"The Australian Army Corp thought they needed soldiers who looked like the locals so they wouldn't be detected by the Japanese when going through the jungle," Ms Anu said.
"Finally he was awarded his medals long after he passed."
Ms Anu has journals from the officer in charge of the crew, a picture of her grandfather's company on Horn Island and a sketch of the Japanese barge from the Australian War Memorial.
"My grandfather didn't talk about the war. It wasn't dinnertime conversation," she said.
"It was very eye opening to learn about his history because he never talked about it.
"It became real when I saw the pictures, reports, sketches and medals. It made me wonder why he never spoke it?
"I do feel a sense of pride about his service. I wonder why he couldn't find a sense of pride allowing him to talk it.
"But I guess he had nothing to show for it after the war ended. There were no medals or declarations. For him, it would have all been hearsay."
Many Torres Strait Islander men for the first time came together from their different communities to serve in companies during WWII.
"It was the first time Islanders mixed with each other and non-Torres Strait Islanders," Ms Anu said. "It was a time when everyone was on equal footing but the laws were still not equal.
"During the war, the men found the courage to protest against not being paid the same amount of money and rations as their white counterparts. So they went on strike for three days for equal pay.
That compensation did not come through until 1986, seven years after my grandfather passed away in 1979.
"We don't know a lot about the Indigenous soldiers. It is important to recognise the Indigenous men and women who offered their services during the first and second world wars."
Ms Anu said she would be standing at her driveway early on Saturday morning.
"Anzac Day reminds me of community, mateship and courage," she said. "It commemorates a significant time for Torres Strait Islanders."
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