Lynette Ramsay Silver

Now aged about 83, Domoit revealed that in 1945, while carrying out forced labour by delivering messages for the Japanese, he had come across a lone POW on the death march track at in the Taviu River valley. After leading him across secret hunting trails to Miruru, several miles away, he and other villagers built a small shelter for the POW, and kept him supplied with food until he was strong enough to be passed to another village headman.

Domoit had never been officially recognised for his bravery or compassion and, as his village was far away from the death march track, it had not been visited post-war by Australian officials seeking to reward local people who had aided prisoners of war.

Moved by the risks taken by this elderly man and his fellow villagers, Lynette and her husband Neil have now ‘adopted’ the village, which is off the beaten track and is materially very poor. To personally acknowledge Domoit’s bravery, they donated a keyboard to the village to provide music at community celebrations and for their church services, along with basic school supplies for the local children.

Lynette also arranged for the Director of the Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG), Brigadier Chris Appleton, to visit the village in November 2011, during an official visit to Sabah, and to formally thank Domoit on behalf of the Australian government. At a small, informal ceremony, Domoit was presented with a letter of appreciation and a wooden plaque, featuring the ‘rising sun’ insignia of the Australian Army. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Silvers also presented bags of rice, powdered milk, salt and sugar to the village headman, as a symbolic replacement for the food given to the POW, from a community that was bordering on starvation itself, owing to confiscation of crops by the Japanese.

As this village is in need of further material assistance, Australians wishing to express their gratitude for the compassion and help rendered to the POW in 1945, or to simply help people less fortunate than themselves, are invited to become a Friend of Miruru village. Please contact Lynette on lynettesilver@gmail.com to discuss how this may best be achieved.