The remains of 27 New Zealand Defence Force personnel and one child were repatriated from Malaysia and Singapore and returned to their families in New Zealand on 21 August, as part of the ongoing Project Te Auraki (The Return).
The New Zealand Army soldiers were serving in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam when they died. The child was a soldier’s son. The remains were returned by Air New Zealand and received with a traditional Maori welcome and Defence honour guard before being handed over to their families for a short private service, followed by an NZDF haka as the hearses left the airport. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joined official guests and veterans’ organisations from New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore at the ramp ceremony. RNZAF Group Captain Carl Nixon said the service honoured the memory of a child and the sacrifice of 27 soldiers who died serving their country overseas. “We’re bringing them home to their families, who have waited more than 60 years for this moment,” he said. An expert NZDF disinterment team carried out this repatriation and identification process, with Malaysian Armed Forces logistic and forensic support. Between 1955 and 1971 New Zealand government policy was that NZDF personnel who died serving overseas were buried overseas unless families paid repatriation costs. Project Te Auraki is reversing that. Three service personnel were repatriated from Fiji and American Samoa on 7 May 2018. Two more will be brought home from England and two from the Republic of Korea later this year.