On February 19, 1942, Japanese bomber and fighter planes conducted a devastating air
raid on the town of Darwin, the capital city of Australia's Northern Territory.
A total of 243 people˙service personnel and civilians˙died in the attack, which was the
first of a long series of bomb raids that the Japanese launched on Darwin and nearby
locations during World War II.
The bombing on Darwin was the first attack during the war on Australian soil, and it is
sometimes called the "Pearl Harbor of Australia," a reference to the Japanese attack on
Hawaii in December 1941.
As a tribute to honor the dead and to remember those who defended Darwin, an annual
commemoration is held in Bicentennial Park by the Cenotaph, a marble monument to
those slain in World War I.
The service begins at 9:30 a.m., and at 9:58, the exact time the attack began in 1942, a
World War II air raid siren sounds.
During some observances, Australian regiments will re-enact the historic attack. Ground
units will shoot their guns, and fighter planes will perform fly-bys over the memorial site.
More info...
https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Anniversary+of+the+Bombing+of+Darwin
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