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Scientology usurps ANZAC acronym in Australia and New Zealand

sallydannce

Gold Meritorious Patron
At any one time between June 1942 and mid-1944 there were between 15,000 and 45,000 American servicemen in camp in New Zealand.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/us-forces-in-new-zealand

Given that NZ's total population was only 1.6 million at that time, this was a significant event in NZ history. The U.S. used NZ for both rest and relaxation for their troops from the Pacific War and also as a staging post for operations. Hospitals were built (in joint cooperation between U.S. military and NZ govt.) with facilities for approx. 10,000 patients. Some female nursing staff was brought out from the U.S. to help staff these 19 hospitals.

Over the years I have spoken to many women who remembered the American troops in NZ. It was an exciting time in many ways. The American presence helped New Zealanders feel more secure about any potential Japanese invasion. With the shortage of kiwi men on home soil, there were many relationships formed, broken hearts, babies born, etc.

This era is affectionately called "the American invasion" of NZ.

This old movie clip has footage of the first American troops arriving in NZ.

http://www.ecasttv.co.nz/program_detail.php?program_id=146&channel_id=60&group_id=59
 

Purple Rain

Crusader
Yes, my ex always loved that the Americans ran off with so many Australian women. He would say, "And that's just the ones they married!!" I think they did that wherever they went, though - Britain, New Zealand, Japan! Hell, I don't know! France?
 

sallydannce

Gold Meritorious Patron
Yes, my ex always loved that the Americans ran off with so many Australian women. He would say, "And that's just the ones they married!!" I think they did that wherever they went, though - Britain, New Zealand, Japan! Hell, I don't know! France?

It is an interesting aspect of war. Here in NZ there were very strict rules about the troops marrying the local girls. It was also frowned upon by local community, with loads of social stigma if a lass was dating an American. Things got quite ugly. It was one thing to be nice to the visiting troops at morale boosting dances, etc, but quite another to get "involved".

I know a wonderful story of the reverse of the usual "boy meets girl during war time". A kiwi man met an American lass. He was a medic, she was a nurse (maybe it was the other way round, I forget now). They met during their war-time duties and eventually, not long after the war ended, married. They had a long marriage, living in both the U.S. and NZ during their many years together.
 

Helena Handbasket

Gold Meritorious Patron
It is an interesting aspect of war. Here in NZ there were very strict rules about the troops marrying the local girls. It was also frowned upon by local community, with loads of social stigma if a lass was dating an American. Things got quite ugly. It was one thing to be nice to the visiting troops at morale boosting dances, etc, but quite another to get "involved".
I can understand why NZ would want to avoid having their eligible female population "married off" in that way, but how could they stop it? If a local girl left the country with a soldier, what could anybody do?

Helena
 

Lord Xenu

Patron Meritorious
BRYAN SEYMOUR!!!

:welcome2: :grouphug:

big-hug-for-you.jpg



Just off to work so I haven't got time to find it now, but the Brian Seymour interview with Tommy Davis the 'thoughts have mass' one is hilarious.
 

sallydannce

Gold Meritorious Patron
I can understand why NZ would want to avoid having their eligible female population "married off" in that way, but how could they stop it? If a local girl left the country with a soldier, what could anybody do?

Helena

The "eligible female population" thing is not as black and white as it may seem on first glance. Because NZ was such a small nation, and with a large percent of the men-folk actively involved in war duties off-shore, it was a highly contentious issue that these confident young American men came to NZ, and with charm and a type of worldliness not usually experienced in this neck of the woods at that time, formed romantic liaisons with the local lasses. Also the American soldiers earned way more than the kiwi soldiers, and had chocolate, silk/nylon stockings, etc, to offer as gifts. Put that into the war-time rations context and you start to get an idea of things. I think it was, partly, a patriot impulse from locals that created the social stigma. "Our boys are off fighting for us and we should remain loyal" type thing.

Also the liberal "codes" we live with today did not exist back in this era. If you had sex with a man you were either a slut or married. Taking off with an American solider was just not what "nice" girls did. Very very different cultural times to current society and I think NZ was ultra conservative. I base this on speaking with women who grew up in Europe in the same era - things were somewhat more liberal for them.

Military personnel have to report in and are accountable for a big percent of their time (duties, etc), particularly during a war and this was a very serious long ugly war. One does not just fall in love and shuffle off with a girl. Desertion is a serious offense. Officials could do a lot to prevent military personnel marrying during war-time. E.g. no marriage licenses would be issued for such a marriage to take place (legal requirement) unless there was permission granted by military authorities.

Military personnel did not travel independently. Again, one has to put this into the context of the era. It was war time. Passenger ships were irregular (due to the war) and the average kiwi (lass) could not afford the passage fare. One didn't just "book a flight and jump on a plane". Times have changed greatly in recent decades with both access to international travel transportation and the cost being far more accessible.

However after the war it was a different story. I know the British provided transportation for some Australian women to go and meet up with their betrothed (spouse if a marriage had been granted permission and some were), though I don't know if the U.S. did the same.
 

ThetanExterior

Gold Meritorious Patron
Yes, my ex always loved that the Americans ran off with so many Australian women. He would say, "And that's just the ones they married!!" I think they did that wherever they went, though - Britain, New Zealand, Japan! Hell, I don't know! France?

In Britain they used to say there were 3 things wrong with US soldiers.

They were over-sexed, over-paid and over here!:roflmao:
 

Leland

Crusader
this is a rather interesting video....about Japan and WWII. Australia is talked about in several different projects in the vid. Has to do with aircraft....the new jet technology and oil from Dutch Indonesia.


and about Technical Air Intelligence...started in Brisbane Australia....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMYMSsIHgxg
 
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Helena Handbasket

Gold Meritorious Patron
The "eligible female population" thing is not as black and white as it may seem on first glance. Because NZ was such a small nation, and with a large percent of the men-folk actively involved in war duties off-shore, it was a highly contentious issue that these confident young American men came to NZ, and with charm and a type of worldliness not usually experienced in this neck of the woods at that time, formed romantic liaisons with the local lasses. Also the American soldiers earned way more than the kiwi soldiers, and had chocolate, silk/nylon stockings, etc, to offer as gifts. Put that into the war-time rations context and you start to get an idea of things. I think it was, partly, a patriot impulse from locals that created the social stigma. "Our boys are off fighting for us and we should remain loyal" type thing.

Also the liberal "codes" we live with today did not exist back in this era. If you had sex with a man you were either a slut or married. Taking off with an American solider was just not what "nice" girls did. Very very different cultural times to current society and I think NZ was ultra conservative. I base this on speaking with women who grew up in Europe in the same era - things were somewhat more liberal for them.

Military personnel have to report in and are accountable for a big percent of their time (duties, etc), particularly during a war and this was a very serious long ugly war. One does not just fall in love and shuffle off with a girl. Desertion is a serious offense. Officials could do a lot to prevent military personnel marrying during war-time. E.g. no marriage licenses would be issued for such a marriage to take place (legal requirement) unless there was permission granted by military authorities.

Military personnel did not travel independently. Again, one has to put this into the context of the era. It was war time. Passenger ships were irregular (due to the war) and the average kiwi (lass) could not afford the passage fare. One didn't just "book a flight and jump on a plane". Times have changed greatly in recent decades with both access to international travel transportation and the cost being far more accessible.

However after the war it was a different story. I know the British provided transportation for some Australian women to go and meet up with their betrothed (spouse if a marriage had been granted permission and some were), though I don't know if the U.S. did the same.
That's what I thought.

Helena
 

Purple Rain

Crusader
It is an interesting aspect of war. Here in NZ there were very strict rules about the troops marrying the local girls. It was also frowned upon by local community, with loads of social stigma if a lass was dating an American. Things got quite ugly. It was one thing to be nice to the visiting troops at morale boosting dances, etc, but quite another to get "involved".

I know a wonderful story of the reverse of the usual "boy meets girl during war time". A kiwi man met an American lass. He was a medic, she was a nurse (maybe it was the other way round, I forget now). They met during their war-time duties and eventually, not long after the war ended, married. They had a long marriage, living in both the U.S. and NZ during their many years together.

Yes, our boys were none too happy apparently.

Of major concern was the fact that U.S. military pay was considerably higher than that of the Australian military[SUP][4][/SUP] and U.S. military uniforms were seen as more appealing than those of the Australians. This resulted in U.S. servicemen not only enjoying greater success in their pursuit of the few available women but also led to many Americans marrying Australian women, facts greatly resented by the Australians. In mid-1942, a reporter walking along Queen Street counted 152 local women in company with 112 uniformed Americans, while only 31 women accompanied 60 Australian soldiers. That it was thought necessary for the media to report this situation indicates the effect of the American presence.[SUP][2][/SUP] (About 12,000 Australian women married American soldiers by the end of the war.[SUP][5][/SUP]) "They're overpaid, oversexed, and over here" was a common phrase used by Australians around this time and is still an anecdote recognised by some in modern generations.[SUP][6][/SUP]
The Americans had the chocolates, the ice-cream, the silk stockings and the dollars. They were able to show the girls a good time, and the Australians became very resentful about the fact that they'd lost control of their own city.
—Sergeant Bill Bentson, U.S. Army

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brisbane





 

oneonewasaracecar

Gold Meritorious Patron
Yes, my ex always loved that the Americans ran off with so many Australian women. He would say, "And that's just the ones they married!!" I think they did that wherever they went, though - Britain, New Zealand, Japan! Hell, I don't know! France?

Overpaid oversexed and over here.

In Britain they used to say there were 3 things wrong with US soldiers.

They were over-sexed, over-paid and over here!:roflmao:

Dammit, you beat me.
 
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sallydannce

Gold Meritorious Patron
Those Yanks....:confused2:

I'm not sure if I should "thanks", "like" or "lol".

I'll just go read my "diplomatic comments to make on message boards" hand-book and get back to ya.

No, seriously, my personal opinion of the time that the Americans were stationed in NZ is more good than otherwise. Yes, there were some tensions but the reality is when you get a load of young people together, under war-conditions/pressures, things can get a tad wild. What people tend to forget is the average age of a solider. Young. And though I've never lived under threat of war (thankful for this) I always imagine it changes people and they do things they normally would not. Like have random casual sex or give nylon stockings to complete strangers, cos they don't know if they might die in the next few weeks.

NZ was embedded in "all things British" at that time. Stiff upper lip, Sunday roasts, with a Victorian attitude towards many things. All these young American men arrive, with their different ways, and well, some folk got pissed off.

She'll be right mate (kiwi saying to cover all and any diplomatic crisis, goes with "would anyone like a nice cup of tea?") :)
 
Given that NZ's total population was only 1.6 million at that time, this was a significant event in NZ history. The U.S. used NZ for both rest and relaxation for their troops from the Pacific War and also as a staging post for operations. Hospitals were built (in joint cooperation between U.S. military and NZ govt.) with facilities for approx. 10,000 patients. Some female nursing staff was brought out from the U.S. to help staff these 19 hospitals.

Over the years I have spoken to many women who remembered the American troops in NZ. It was an exciting time in many ways. The American presence helped New Zealanders feel more secure about any potential Japanese invasion. With the shortage of kiwi men on home soil, there were many relationships formed, broken hearts, babies born, etc.

This era is affectionately called "the American invasion" of NZ.

This old movie clip has footage of the first American troops arriving in NZ.

http://www.ecasttv.co.nz/program_detail.php?program_id=146&channel_id=60&group_id=59

It is an interesting aspect of war. Here in NZ there were very strict rules about the troops marrying the local girls. It was also frowned upon by local community, with loads of social stigma if a lass was dating an American. Things got quite ugly. It was one thing to be nice to the visiting troops at morale boosting dances, etc, but quite another to get "involved".

I know a wonderful story of the reverse of the usual "boy meets girl during war time". A kiwi man met an American lass. He was a medic, she was a nurse (maybe it was the other way round, I forget now). They met during their war-time duties and eventually, not long after the war ended, married. They had a long marriage, living in both the U.S. and NZ during their many years together.

One of my aunts married an american pilot around WW2 time. Went and lived in Hawaii.
 

CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
As noted in the article, the Church of Scientology apologized for Anzac abuse last September. Apparently they did not learn their lesson.

The Age: Anzac merchandise being blocked as inappropriate and unacceptable

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/a...and-unacceptable-20150418-1mnu3s.html?stb=twt

* * * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *

The Church of Scientology has topped a list of organisations and businesses that have been blocked by the government from exploiting the Anzac legacy for profit and self-promotion.

* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *

* * * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *

The Church of Scientology was the most high-profile of a small number of offenders that appropriated the Anzac legacy without permission, attracting the ire of Veteran Affairs Minister Senator Michael Ronaldson.

In September, the controversial religious organisation was caught offering to issue the rank of "ANZAC" to members who donated $10,000 to build a new Scientology centre in Auckland, New Zealand.

The church was forced to remove the promotional material after being reprimanded by the minister.

A Scientology spokeswoman said the error had been made by an individual who was unaware about rules governing the use of the Anzac name.

"No funds were raised from this action. Once the church was notified of the use of the term, an apology was sent forthwith and the term was never used again, nor will it be," the spokeswoman said. "We meant no disrespect to anyone, particularly those people who gave their lives for both countries."

* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *
 

CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
Did the article say they did it again? If so, I missed it.
My interpretation of the first sentence of the article is that this time the Church of Scientology asked permission ahead of time but were rejected:
The Church of Scientology has topped a list of organisations and businesses that have been blocked by the government from exploiting the Anzac legacy for profit and self-promotion.
 
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