John Potatu

Forenames

John AWMM

Surname

Potatu AWMM

Also known as

Te Aotipu Paraone AWMM

Service number

25987 AWMM

Gender

Male AWMM

Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe

Iwi Māori, Māori AWMM

Date of birth

b. 1906

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 30 October 2022 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/john-potatu

Place of birth

Gisborne

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 30 October 2022 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/john-potatu

Birth notes

Son of Wi Paraone and Ngahuia Hawera, of Tahoka, Makaraka, Gisborne

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 30 October 2022 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/john-potatu

Address before enlistment

Unknown AWMM Makaraka, Gisborne, New Zealand AWMM

Next of kin

Mrs W. Perana (stepsister), Makaraka, Gisborne, New Zealand AWMM

Relationship status

Unknown AWMM Single AWMM

War

World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM

Armed force / branch

Army AWMM

Service number

25987 AWMM

Enlistment

WW2 Unknown AWMM Labourer/Civilian AWMM

Embarkation details

WW2 Sergeant AWMM 28 (Maori) Battalion, C Company AWMM Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force AWMM

Medical notes

Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM

Last rank

Sergeant AWMM
28 (Maori) Battalion, C Company AWMM

Listed with the name Te Aotipu Paraone in Souta (2008) AWMM

Death

28 Mar 1944 AWMM
Age  38 AWMM

Cause of death

Killed in Action AWMM

Cemetery

Cassino War Cemetery, Italy AWMM X. C. 5. AWMM

Obituary

Died of Wounds— Previously Reported Died on Active Service' - Potatu, Sgt. John, Gisborne.

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 12 October 2023 - ROLL OF HONOUR - GISBORNE HERALD, VOLUME LXXI, ISSUE 21403, 13 MAY 1944, PAGE 4

Memorial name

• Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 2 Hall of Memories AWMM
• Gisborne First World War Memorial, The Esplanade, Kaiti, Gisborne AWMM

Related objects

External links

• 28th Maori Battalion Website 1941-1945
  http://www.28maoribattalion.org.nz/
  Further Reference
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
  https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2609888
  Sources Used
• Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington: Dept. of Internal Affairs, War History Branch. Digital copy.
  https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/webarchive/20210104000423/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Maor.html
  Further Reference

References

• Auckland Museum. Roll of Honour, Auckland Province, 1939 - 1945. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 93/139.
• Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1941). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 4 (Embarkations from 1st April, 1941 to 30 June, 1941). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
  WW2 4: WW2 286
• Soutar, M. (2008). Nga tama toa = The price of citizenship : C Company 28 (Maori) Battalion 1939-1945. Albany, N.Z.: David Bateman.
  Portrait published in Soutar (2008)
• Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.