About Us

‘Our Indigenous Heroes-They Also Served’ Project

When I was a boy, I used to spend hours holding and staring at my grandfather’s war medals. They had been gifted me after he passed away. I was only five years old when he died, and I can barely remember him. Strangely, I can feel him though. I can remember the rough of the side of his face when he held me. 

He was more legend than real. He was a Rat of Tobruk. My father always said that with great pride. My grandfather, Cecil William Henry Grant, was already in his thirties when World War Two broke out. His older brother had served and was killed on the fields of France in the First World War. 
My grandmother was not happy when my grandfather signed up. She asked him what this country had ever done for us. As a Wiradjuri man, my grandfather was enlisting to fight for a nation that did not fully recognise his citizenship. 

But this was a Wiradjuri tradition. His people were warriors. That’s why his brother served. We fight. He told my Nan, that if their children were to have a future in Australia, he had to make a sacrifice. It wasn’t easy. He came back alive but damaged, like so many other diggers. But he had his pride, and he had his faith. He made good on building a better country and a better life for his kids. And I am here today because of him. 

That’s why we remember. That’s why sacrifice must be honoured. People like my grandfather and my grandmother who stayed behind to raise their children built a better world for us all. There are deep scars in our history. There are wars on this soil – wars courageous Aboriginal people fought against those invading their land – that are not recognised. They should be. My grandfather’s forebears fought the newcomers to this land, and then he joined with the sons of settlers to fight for Australia. 

That’s how nations are born. There are times when we make common cause. There are times we stand shoulder to shoulder. What we build in battle is what we honour in peace. My grandfather’s memory inspires me to fight for justice and truth. He also inspires me to hold out my hand to fellow Australians as my people.
 
Books like this, are more than just stories. The names recorded here are more than just lives. They are a promise. They are a pledge that tomorrow will be better than yesterday. Read this book and ask what you can do. 

Thank you ‘Pa. Thank you to all in this book who served. May your names never be forgotten. May your sacrifice forever inspire us. 

Stan Grant. FASSA, is an Australian journalist, writer and radio and television presenter, since the 1990s. He has written and spoken on Indigenous issues and his Aboriginal identity. He is a Wiradjuri man.