The first edition of this book in 2009 sold out in five weeks. The launch led to a group of veterans sourcing funds to track down Hariparsad Gurung, the Nepalese Gurkha soldier rescued by John in 1965 for which John received the Military Cross. The two men reunited in Christchurch in 2010 to overwhelming emotion.
An immediate second edition of the book contained a brief epilogue of the meeting, was used by Maori Television for a documentary on John’s life, and assisted the successful application for John to receive the inaugural Anzac Person of the Year Award in 2010.
Both men died within two years of being reunited. Their families continue to keep in contact. The front page below captured the moment when the two men met.
You can read the story online here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3342581/Emotional-reunion-for-soldiers
