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Jamy creates plaque to mark 50th anniversary of the battle for Plaman Mapu Sarawak | Jamy

Jamy creates plaque to mark 50th anniversary of the battle for Plaman Mapu Sarawak

Plaman2

Jamy is honoured to have been chosen to create an acrylic plaque to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the battle for Plaman Mapu Sarawak in Borneo.

From the Army MOD website: 

Fifty years on, veteran Paratroopers have returned to the scene of a battle in Borneo to remember those who lost their lives.

The Battle of Plaman Mapu, 50 years ago yesterday (27 April 1965), saw 36 members of B Company 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment (2 PARA), on operations in Borneo, defend their company location from 400 elite Indonesian soldiers who attacked the camp on the Malay border with Indonesia in a dawn raid.

During the battle, which lasted a few short hours, two Paras were killed and several more were injured. However, large numbers of the enemy were killed and the rest retreated back into the jungle.

Yesterday, a group of veterans returned to the scene to build a cairn and lay a memorial plaque for the two paratroopers killed, Lance Corporal Ian McKellar and Private Harry Smith, who are buried at Kranji Cemetery in Singapore.

Many of the paratroopers who defended the camp that day were teenagers, fresh from training, deployed to the jungles of Borneo as part of Operation Claret, a two-year mission involving British and Commonwealth forces, to defend the Malay border from Indonesian invasion.

Gil Boyd BEM, Director of Operations at Goodman Bentley Spec/Ops Design & Security Limited for 2 PARA:

“We all appreciated the great job you did on the plaque so it follows that you should see it in situ on the 50th anniversary when we were there last week on the 27th April 2015 in 45 degree sweltering heat with over 200 local villagers from the area around the hill that 35 soldiers of 2 PARA fought off 400 Indonesian Special Forces killing over 300. I have just returned via Singapore as we called into the Military Cemetery there to also have a special service at the two graves of two of the lads that were killed at Plaman Mapu. Very moving and highly emotional five days on two continents in the Far East supported by serving members of 2 PARA and the three veterans of the battle.

Picture shows Major General James Bashall who I took out with us a past CO of 2 PARA pulling off our Regimental flag to reveal the plaque. The full story to be revealed in the Sunday Telegraph this weekend if interested in hearing about real brave young 19 year old soldiers!!

As always a big thank you guys”

Plaman

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