Daniel Lane - The Digger of Kokoda: The Official Biography of Reg Chard

About The Digger of Kokoda

The battle that saved Australia. The track that saved one mans life.

Reg Chard endured hell as an 18-year-old Australian soldier who fought in 1942 on the infamous Kokoda Trail in World War II.

Ironically, Kokoda rescued Reg decades later when he decided to take his own life. After losing Betty, his wife of 66 years, the grief-stricken great-grandfather lost the will to live. But he found new purpose through educating young people, giving guided tours of Sydneys Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway.

On these tours, Reg relives Kokoda every day. He sees an image on the wall of a soldier - a comrade - who succumbed to disease weeks after the photograph was taken. He feels his heart beating as his patrol chases down Japanese troops who had mutilated women in a jungle clearing. He hears the war cry of a samurai sword-wielding officer charging towards him. And he tells these stories along the walkway, preserving the memory of those who never came home.

As one of the last surviving diggers of Kokoda, Reg Chard has become a custodian of its legacy. This deeply moving, healing and inspiring biography of the 98-year-old veteran tells us of Regs war in the jungle and how, 80 years after the battle that saved Australia, Kokoda still lives within him.

Reading the story of Reg Chard and his fellow servicemen only reinforces how grateful we all should be to the soldiers who sacrificed everything in order for us to have the privileged life we often take for granted. These men were full of bravery, courage and conviction yet were regularly battling against the odds in the knowledge they may not see out the day. Every word of this story has meaning, importance and impact and I for one am indebted to those who have served our nation to make it what it is today.

STEVE WAUGH AO, former Australian Cricket Captain

The Digger of Kokoda is a gripping read about an all-Australian hero, Reg Chard, who like so many of that WWII generation had greatness in him, only revealed when he was called on to put everything on the line for his country. This biography evocatively portrays the hardships of the Kokoda campaign, the sacrifices made, and the irrepressible spirit of the Australian soldiers and nursing sisters. Bravo the lot of them, and this book.

PETER FITZSIMONS AM, journalist and author of Kokoda

The lessons and life experiences of Reg Chard are ones all Australians today could learn a lot from. The Digger of Kokoda was very honest and gave me a new perspective and understanding of what they went through and why. Warm, moving, heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure. The greatest lesson I take from Reg is his quote: Make the most of life, because no matter how bad something may seem, life goes on just make sure you go with it.

EMMA McKEON AM, Australian Olympic gold medallist

I have an immense respect and admiration for Reg Chard the Digger of Kokoda. Hes a genuine Australian hero whose story could help teach our nations youth the importance of resilience, grit, and mateship. Reg, and others like him, should be honoured in our school system to ensure the ANZAC/Kokoda spirit thrives... reading this mans powerful story is a perfect start to guaranteeing that.

DANNY GREEN, former World Boxing Champion

A lifetime ago, no series of battles were more critical nor horrendous than those of the New Guinea campaign Kokoda and the likes of Sanananda. Reg Chard was a typical and thus extraordinary digger who fought in those battles and survived, to this day mourning and honouring his many mates who fell. This brilliant account by Daniel Lane, of Regs war service, reminds us all of the price of peace so many of our predecessors have paid. A great story.

GENERAL THE HONOURABLE SIR PETER COSGROVE AK, AC (MIL), CVO, MC (RETD), former Governor-General and Chief of the Defence Force

Reg Chards biography transported me straight back to the jungle in New Guinea and rekindled memories of walking the Trail later in my life. The written word of the Kokoda Trail will last long into history like the track itself. The Digger of Kokoda is essential reading for any Australian.

KEITH PAYNE VC, AM, Australian Army veteran, Victoria Cross recipient and author of No One Left Behind

At the end of the Kokoda Trail stand four granite pillars, each inscribed with a single word Courage, Sacrifice, Endurance and Mateship. Values informing our national character given to us by Reg Chard and this nations finest generation. They gave their youth and many, their lives for one another. The Digger of Kokoda offers a deeper understanding of what it means to be an Australian and the inspiration to be a better person.

DR BRENDAN NELSON AO, former Director of the Australian War Memorial and Minister for Defence

In a world where an internet outage is deemed a catastrophe, The Digger of Kokoda is a masterclass in perspective and relativity. If this book doesnt get you to the Dawn Service on ANZAC Day, nothing will.

JOHN SCHUMANN AM, lead singer of Redgum and songwriter of I Was Only 19

Courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice are qualities synonymous with Kokoda and Australias national identity. They embody, too, the service and life of Reg Chard. His is a story that will inspire.

DR KARL JAMES, Head of the Military History Section, Australian War Memorial and author of Kokoda: Beyond the Legend

Grittily honest, told with great sensitivity, this is the finest account of Kokoda by a front-line soldier that Ive read. Reg Chard, only 18 when he fought the Japanese in Papua, tells much more than another mud and blood story. Now 98, he shows how the experience touched his life and, in an extraordinary twist, saved him from his own demons after his wife died. The true story of a boy soldier who faced some of the worst battles of the Pacific War.

PAUL HAM, author of Kokoda

Raw, vivid and searingly honest, Reg Chards personal account of Kokoda is one of the most moving Ive ever read. From the nightmare of Eora Creek to the terrible swamps of Sanananda, I felt I was right there, and its not a pretty place. One of the last true voices, Reg reaches across the decades to remind us of what our men did, and how much they endured.

MICHAEL VEITCH, bestselling author of Flak, Barney Greatrex and Turning Point

A behind-the-curtain look into some of the toughest battles Australians have faced, in some of the toughest terrain. Reg Chard, a soldiers soldier, shares insights into the graphic, brutal and confronting scenes endured by Australians on the infamous Kokoda Trail. Regs memoir reminds us of all the extraordinary acts committed by ordinary people and fills a Digger like myself with pride in the honour of donning the same badge they wore.

DAMIEN THOMLINSON, 2nd Commando Regiment veteran, actor and World Ranked Disabled Golfer

The realities of war are best understood by the soldiers who fight them. In Reg Chards compelling account of Kokoda, we gain a unique insight into wars madness. We not only advance alongside him in the mud and blood of the trail towards a ruthless enemy; he also invites us to join him as he retreats deep inside himself to the comfort of home, family, and his beloved Betty. More than a book about stoicism, survival, and forgiveness, The Digger of Kokoda is a modern diggers time capsule full of the human lessons of war and soldiering that never change.