WHEN Lauren Robertson was a child she knew nothing of the brave act her grandfather performed in World War II that would immortalise him as a great Australian hero.
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For the first five and a half years of her life, Lauren formed a close relationship with her paternal grandparents who both played a hands-on role in raising her and her siblings.
She remembers snuggling up in bed with her grandfather and eating his cooked breakfast with him, something "he wasn't really supposed to have."
When he passed away, the memories remained of a man that was "firm but fair."
But as Lauren grew up she learnt more about her grandfather and the amazing legacy he left behind.
Lauren's grandfather, Leslie "Bull" Allen was 26 when he carried 12 wounded American soldiers to safety while under fire on Mount Tambu in 1943.
For his gallantry he received the United States Silver Star.
His story has since been retold in numerous newspaper and magazine articles, featured in books and was the focus of a documentary 'In Memory of Bull Allen' produced by Jary Nemo and Lucinda Horrocks.
In 2005 a series of 4kg brass figurines were made of Allen, immortalising the famous photograph of Allen carrying a wounded American soldier.
Lauren owns one of these figurines, which stand 315mm tall, a gift from her father.
This treasured keepsake has been everywhere with Lauren and her own children proudly took it to school.
The Australian War Memorial has a collection of photographs of Allen and even wartime footage of him in New Guinea has been unearthed.
Leslie Allen was reportedly hailed a hero in the US and Eleanor Roosevelt wrote him a letter of gratitude and kept in touch with him over the years. It is also said that Allen was offered roles in Hollywood films which he turned down.
Like many war heroes, Allen was very humble and he never boasted about his past.
"He was just my grandad," admits Lauren.
Lauren's grandmother, Jean Allen also served in the war. She was a nurse with several units in Malaysia and was awarded a number of campaign medals.
The story of Leslie "Bull" Allen
Leslie Allen from Ballarat, Victoria was a stretcher bearer with the 2/5 Australian Infantry Battalion.
According to an article by documentary maker Lucinda Horrocks, this story begins after Kokoda, here we share some of that article 'The Making of 'In Memory of Bull Allen.'
On July 30, 1943 US forces attacked a knoll called Mount Tambu. It was a failed attempt to capture a Japanese-held strategic point. But it resulted in one of the most extraordinary single acts of Australian bravery in World War II
The US 1/162nd Battalion got into trouble very quickly in the face of Japanese snipers, machine guns and mortar fire and suffered heavily with 50 wounded.
Military historian David Dextor describes the terrain around Salamaua and Lae as "One of the most difficult and unpleasant areas ever to confront troops" requiring "endurance and determination in generous quantities."
The land around Tambu was murderous, muddy, damp and steep-sloped and two US medics were killed trying to retrieve the wounded from the active battlefield.
At this point, Allen, who was in the area as part of the residual Australian presence, walked up, alone, into the battlefield and started bringing back wounded, one at a time, by hoisting them up and carrying them over his shoulders. He went in and out in this way at least 12 times, stopping eventually from exhaustion, with holes in his sleeves and holes in his hat from the machine gun fire which had grazed him several times.
Allen's actions in rescuing the wounded at Tambu were extraordinary. He was under no obligation, apart from his own compassionate impulse, to risk his life in a US action and save men he had known only for a few days. The US recognised this and awarded him a Silver Star, one of their highest gallantry awards.
After Tambu, the psychological impact on Bull was severe. He was discharged from the army for medical reasons, and by the time he got home in 1944 he had lost the power of speech. Family legend has it he was unrecognisable when he got back, and it took him six months of recuperation on his uncle's farm in Warrenheip before he could talk again.
Allen recovered to get married, raise a family, to work and to retire in Ballarat. But he lived with those invisible psychological scars of war trauma the rest of his life. He died in 1982.