Tena koe I was wondering if you recieived any further information about this man John Taua as I am still interested in finding more about him

I knew John and his wife as we lived round the corner from from them in Panmure for a number of years and although a quiet man I did see him from time to time at the Battalion parades and functions they ran. My father who was at Cassino also said that John earned his medal in the rubble of Cassino maintaining the communication wires fixing the numerous breaks due to shell fire and the shifting ground of the fighting. The flank companies at this time of the battle were in support of the Maori Battalion attack in to the Continental Hotel area which had destroyed several other battalions due to the strong enemy defences. The Americans were providing some tank and artillery support and needed to have the communications lines open to do this. The man alocated this task was John Taua. To get him close enough to the battle ground where the damage to the lines was being done the Americans put him in a tank and drove him up past the snipers and machine guns which covered the approaches to the battle. For the length of the attack by the Maori battalion John Taua scrambled about in the rubble and destruction of the town under continuous shelling and machine gun fire to maintain the communications so that the supporting arms of the Americans could support the attack. It was an American initiative which earned an American recognition. Thats what my father said about him.