When Tony Marchioni attends Anzac Day services, a tear comes to his eye.
He’s thinking of his older brother, Robert (Bob) Marchioni, who was an able seaman in the Royal New Zealand Navy.
Bob Marchioni died while taking part in a raid behind enemy lines on the night of August 25/26, 1951.
His death sparked a long commitment from Marchioni towards supporting Korean War veterans, which recently saw him honoured with a Hamilton City Council Civic Award on April 8.
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Bob Marchioni was the only Royal New Zealand Navy battle fatality during the Korean War, and was awarded a Korea Medal, a United Nations Korea Medal and a New Zealand Memorial Cross.
He was just 19 when he died, and it was a long time before Marchioni’s family found out details around his death, as the information was initially classified.
Marchioni was part of a small group of six men, one of three from his ship, the HMNZS Rotoiti, who were sent behind enemy lines to capture a prisoner, his brother said.
When the group was spotted, Marchioni stood up to throw a grenade and was shot in the chest, killing him.
His friend on the mission, Norm Scoles, threw Marchioni’s body down the 70-metre cliff they had scaled to try to take it back to the ship, but had to leave it on the beach.
Scoles covered Marchioni’s body in rocks and out of the way of the tide, with the hope of retrieving it the next day. But a retrieval mission was not allowed and, to this day, Bob Marchioni’s remains are still there.
Marchioni, 87, said there were hopes recently the remains would be recovered, but their North Korea location and heightened tensions put a stop to that.
After his brother’s death, Marchioni wasn’t allowed to join the war effort, his parents did not want to lose another son, so he continued to work on the railway until 1990.
He said when he retired he was at a bit of a loose end, until he was offered a trip to Korea through Veterans Affairs for a memorial service for his brother in 2005.
After the trip he thought he could give back to the Korean War veterans, so he joined the Hamilton branch.
He’s worn many hats since, including as secretary and treasurer, and serving on the committee.
Described as the “go-to man’’, he runs raffles at the RSA Club to supplement the cost of quarterly luncheons for K-Force veterans and also visits them in hospital to look out for their welfare.
Marchioni is also the person who makes sure local veterans receive a dignified funeral, complete with honour guards at the service and a bugler to perform The Last Post.
Joining gave Marchioni a bit of closure too, he said.
“I felt I was keeping Bob’s memory alive.”
Marchioni said he has attended every dawn service since his 2005 trip to Korea, with this year no exception.
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