Navy remembers fallen seamen

(Saturday, January 22, 2005)

THE Fiji Navy yesterday commemorated the lives of two seamen who died in action on the HMNZS Leander during the battle of Kolombangara in World War II.

The commemoration was in the form of the navy naming its new multi-purpose conference facility after them.

Timo Puamau, 25, of Nayau, Lau and a former handyman at The Fiji Times, and Savenaca Naulumatua, 23, of Waya, Yasawa, died on July 13, 1943, when engaging Japanese imperial naval forces in Kula Bay between the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

Navy Commander Mosese Semi praised the two late seamen, saying it was because of the sacrifices of such servicemen "we now enjoy freedom".

Army engineers refurbished the conference room through the help of the Australian Defence Co-operation Program.

The facility will be used for the Fiji navy studies on maritime law enforcement training programs and for hosting border protection multi-agency forums.

FROM: http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=15140