Two Australian soldiers murdered by Japanese forces near the end of World War II have finally been laid to rest.
Lance Corporal Spencer Walklate and Private Ronald Eagleton, both members of Z Special Unit, were buried with military honours in a ceremony at the Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresby, on Thursday.
Their remains were recovered on Kairiru Island, off the north coast of Papua New Guinea, last year following a search by the army's Unrecovered War Casualties unit.
Both were members of an eight-man Z Special patrol in what was called Operation Copper to Muschu Island in April 1945.
The aim was to investigate Japanese naval guns which could imperil the allied landing planned for Wewak.
The mission was a disaster.
Japanese forces discovered the Australian soldiers and proceeded to hunt them down. There was just one survivor, Sapper Mick Dennis who managed to swim to the mainland.
It was thought Lance Corporal Walklate and Private Eagleton drowned at sea as they and others sought to escape.
But it emerged they managed to reach Kairiru where they were captured, tortured and beheaded.
Mr Dennis, 94, plus soldiers from the Special Air Service Regiment and the 1st and 2nd Commando Regiments provided the funeral party on Thursday.
Army chief Lieutenant General David Morrison said the army was committed to honouring every Australian soldier lost in combat.
"We must never forget those who served before us, and whose legacy we live to today," he said.
Brian Manns, manager of the Unrecovered War Casualties unit, said the funeral was the culmination of years of work.
"The investigation took several years and involved an immense effort," he said.
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