The search is on for the families of those soldiers of A Company of the 28th Maori Battalion who were killed and went missing in action. The exercise is part of a research project aimed at reviving the memories and information of the sons who failed to return home.
There are 30 soldiers of A Company of the Maori Battalion listed as killed or missing in action.
"Such is the love for our ancestors from the Far North who failed to return home, with the key aim here of finding their final resting places," Harawira Pearless of Kahungunu says.
Pearless says this research will reveal vital information that remains unknown on the final resting places of these Gum Diggers.
"We can determine from the date of death which battle they were fighting when they fell and this is new information," she says.
"From our perspective, they are not lost. It remains an issue because they’re still lying in the fields of Greece, Crete, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Italy."
Pearless has conducted extensive research on battle sites around the world where Māori fought and is using this to produce a special guide for families and descendants of Māori soldiers who saw action in wartime.
"The basis of this research is identifying who they are, where their final resting places are and finding the respective photos of these soldiers. The government won’t assist us in this research, this is our job to tell the stories of the Māori soldiers who failed to return home."
A work of compassion to revive the memory of those lost in battle.