Saturday, March 26, 2011

Chinese-Australian servicemen to be honoured

Chinese-Australian servicemen to be honoured
By Jo-Anne Hui
April 25 2002

The year was 1916. The place, Chatham's Post on the Gallipoli front line. From across the trenches, Abdul the Terrible was staring down at The Assassin, the formidable Australian sniper responsible for picking off dozens of his Turkish comrades.

Abdul let fly with a volley of shots which missed their target. Then The Assassin carefully took aim, bringing down his nemesis with a shot that caught the Turkish sharpshooter between the eyes.

That, at least, is the legend of Billy Sing, aka The Assassin, the nuggety, dark-haired Queenslander who fought with the Australian Fifth Light Horse regiment at Gallipoli.

Sing was a renowned bushman and kangaroo hunter rumoured to be able to shoot the tails off piglets from a distance of 25 yards.

He was also of Chinese descent, one of 400-odd veterans who have served in the Australian armed forces over the past 100 years and who will be honoured in a special memorial due to be completed later this year.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/24/1019441262394.html

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