A French Tahitian Served as an RNZAF Bomber Pilot in WWII
Apr 22, 2024 21:03:19 GMT 12
Antonio likes this
Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 22, 2024 21:03:19 GMT 12
Surely he flew more than 15 ops to receive so many awards? From The Press, 3 August 1963:
BOMBER PILOT IN TROUPE
Interpreter For Tahitians
A distinguished career as a bomber pilot in the Second World War is part of the history of Mr Nat Mara, the Tahitian interpreter for the South Sea Island Festival troupe which will perform in Christchurch on Monday and Tuesday.
Mr Mara entered show business some years after the war and has his own Tahitian group of entertainers in Auckland. Several recordings have been made of his singing and guitar-playing.
Mr Mara is a French citizen. As a bomber pilot serving with the Free French he flew 15 sorties over Europe and made a forced landing once in the English Channel. His distinguished service is reflected in the number of awards he gained. He has been presented with the lanyard of the Legion of Honour, the Medialle Militaire, the Corps de Guerre — which he received five times — and the Medaille de Resistance.
Mr Mara first came to New Zealand to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force at the outbreak of war. He later went to Canada and from there began fighting for the Free French as a member of the Royal Air Force.
After the war, in 1946, he again flew in France in an airlift taking military families to North Africa.
Two years later he returned to Tahiti to work as a radio observer and meteorologist and a short time afterwards he moved to Auckland.
BOMBER PILOT IN TROUPE
Interpreter For Tahitians
A distinguished career as a bomber pilot in the Second World War is part of the history of Mr Nat Mara, the Tahitian interpreter for the South Sea Island Festival troupe which will perform in Christchurch on Monday and Tuesday.
Mr Mara entered show business some years after the war and has his own Tahitian group of entertainers in Auckland. Several recordings have been made of his singing and guitar-playing.
Mr Mara is a French citizen. As a bomber pilot serving with the Free French he flew 15 sorties over Europe and made a forced landing once in the English Channel. His distinguished service is reflected in the number of awards he gained. He has been presented with the lanyard of the Legion of Honour, the Medialle Militaire, the Corps de Guerre — which he received five times — and the Medaille de Resistance.
Mr Mara first came to New Zealand to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force at the outbreak of war. He later went to Canada and from there began fighting for the Free French as a member of the Royal Air Force.
After the war, in 1946, he again flew in France in an airlift taking military families to North Africa.
Two years later he returned to Tahiti to work as a radio observer and meteorologist and a short time afterwards he moved to Auckland.
