Fifty years after his act of bravery, a group of former servicemen gathered more than 18,000km from his homeland to commemorate the life of Sergeant Talaiasi Labalaba.
Major (Retd) Alan McDade wrote to The Fiji Times and said “a brave son of Fiji” was remembered at the Ballymena Services Club in Northern Ireland.
He said Ballymena was where Sgt Labalaba trained when he joined the Royal Ulster Rifles (RUR) in 1962 before going on to serve in different theatres with the unit.
Mr McDade said a short service and reading of The Pilgrim’s Prayer was followed by a wreath being laid on a 25 lb Field Gun, similar to the one Labalaba single-handedly manned during the Battle of Mirbat in Oman where he made the ultimate sacrifice to save members of the Special Air Services (SAS) stationed there.
“The Services Club flew their Union flag at half-mast in respect for our fallen soldier and in his memory,” he said.
Mr McDade said in 1968, the RUR merged into the Royal Irish Rangers and Labalaba had, by that time, passed selection into the SAS.
“It was with the SAS that Labalaba was killed in action during the Battle of Mirbat, Oman on 19th July 1972.
“He is a true hero of Fiji and I was delighted to be present at the unveiling of his statue at Nadi Airport on 25th October 2018.
“Whilst there, I met his sister and his son during that visit and the honour of meeting them both will live long in my memory.”
