CPL Harry Draper started his day like every other day these Christmas holidays. He woke up at the crack of dawn in his apartment in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast in South-East Queensland to head to his favourite surf spot at Alexandra Headland. Harry knew it was going to be a good day, the sunrise was something only to be seen in person, the birds were singing and he had the whole beach to himself. He was enjoying his time off from work by catching up with his family and friends whom he hadn't seen all year being at Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney, he missed being home.  Harry had returned from the surf and began drying himself off and made his way up to the local coffee shop for a brew. While awaiting his coffee Harry was scrolling his Facebook and was shocked to see what was going on in New South Wales. Bush Fires. Nothing like he'd ever seen in his lifetime. He was shocked and felt grief for all the people who lived there. On the drive home, he received a call from his SGT Informing him that Harry and his unit would be assisting with the bush fires and a flight had been booked for him to return to base in three days. Harry was sad he couldn't spend the last few weeks of his holidays with his family but he knew this is why he had signed up for the Army in the first place, to help people in need and was looking forward to doing whatever he could to help out with this devastating natural disaster.

Harry began packing that afternoon and informed his family of what he was doing and what was expected of him. His family understood and was supportive of him leaving but was worried about the danger. He reassured them that he was going to be with his mates and the Army would look after him just like it's done in the past. He was excited to see his mates again but was nervous about the dangers that he would have to face in the next couple of months.

Harry had landed at Sydney Airport at seven in the morning and as soon as he got off the plane, he started to see a lot of familiar faces and knew they were here for the same thing. That's what Harry loved about the Army the most. He wasn't alone. No matter what task, big or small, there was always someone by his side which brought comfort to him. Arriving back at Holsworthy Barracks with his mates, there was a lot of talk between everyone about what was happening and what lie ahead of them. At 1400 that afternoon the Commanding Officer of the Unit was leading a brief regarding what was about to happen and what was expected from them.  The fires were out of control. There were already hundreds of homes destroyed, hundreds of hectares of land had burnt to a crisp, livestock, and lives has been lost. You could tell by the silence in the room that everyone was tense. They knew it wasn't going to be easy but they knew they had to help no matter the cost. The CO had also said that members of the foreign nations had been deployed to assist as well. Harry had never worked with any foreign army’s before and was interested to meet some new people, he just wished it was under better circumstances.

The following morning, Harry and his unit were loaded up on buses and were taken to the Blue Mountains. Harry remembers being on the bus to Kapooka, where the silence was deafening, but this was different. Everyone was scared by what they were about to see and hear. Half an hour out from where the command post was located, Harry was looking out the window staring at the distance thinking back to that morning surfing. He would say it was almost like that, the perfect sunrise. He knew different. He wasn't seeing the sun rising over the mountains. It was the fire. The sky was on fire. It was almost beautiful if it was anything different. The air was getting thicker, it was hard to breathe and the smoke was billowing from everywhere. The faces around him said the same thing Harry was thinking, they were scared.

Arriving at the command post was his fellow chain of command giving orders to his unit. Harry had been tasked alongside his section and a small team of American Soldiers that they were to be out in front of the fire to clear a path from homes in the area. Harry wasn't scared of many things but fire made him very uneasy. But he knew what was expected from him and he'd do it anyway. While getting briefed he meets CPL Zach Parish from the American Army who, before he knew it, would be relying on each other for everything.

Two months into the deployment, it was 0300 and Harry and Zach still hadn't gotten to sleep yet, it was going to be a long day. They had cut down enough trees during the night that the fire was going to pass a group of houses tucked away, in the once, Harry thought, beautiful countryside of the Blue Mountains. Their water was running low and Harry had just sent one of his diggers on a resupply for more water and rations. Harry and Zach had started to get very close. They spent every waking moment together. They talked about their families and what their lives were like back home. Harry had never been to America before and Harry loved listening to Zach's stories. Zach would tell Harry all about his little town in Wisconsin called Fitchburg. On Sunday he and his family would all go to church and there would always be a BBQ at someone's house right after. It was a town where everyone knew everybody's name and everyone just got along. Zach joined the military right out of school just like his father who died in Desert Storm. Zach knew his dad was always watching over him and keeping him safe no matter where he went. Just like this deployment. Zach wasn't scared because his dad was keeping him safe. Zach was fascinated when Harry would tell him stories about surfing every day and playing in the surf. There were no beaches where Zach grew up. It helped to take his mind off of what was happening around him when Harry would tell him of the time when he was paddling out into the surf of Bondi Beach when out of nowhere a shark had been spotted no more than 20 metres from Harry's position, luckily Harry knew what to do and kept his cool and didn't panic and made it back to shore unharmed. Unfortunately, the beach had to be closed for the rest of the day. Zach only dreamed of what he would do in that situation. The thought sent a chill down his spine.

The boys were enjoying a brew when they got a call over the radio that a family were still trapped in their home, no more than 600m from their position. Rescue teams and firefighters were in position but they needed all the help they could get. Harry, Zach, and the rest of the section set off to do what they could. When they arrived, there were already firefighters inside tackling the blaze and making their way to where the family were trapped inside. Right away they knew it wasn’t going to be easy to get the family out safely. The fire was getting more and more out of control by the second. Zach put his hand up so that he would go inside to try and get them out. Harry wouldn’t leave his friend to go in alone so they kitted up and followed the firefighters inside. The heat was like nothing neither of them had experienced before. They couldn’t see 2 feet in front of them but they were just following the screams of the children inside. They had found the family trapped in the parents' bedroom and had to smash a window so they could get climb out that way. Harry and Zach had gotten them out safely before the ceiling had fallen in on them both. Zach was knocked to the ground with a beam on top of him before Harry quickly dived out of the way. Harry knew that something was wrong right away when he saw blood pouring out the side of Zach. Harry finally managed to pull the beam off Zach and noticed a piece of wood in the backside of Zach. Harry brought him to his feet but he was incoherent. He couldn’t walk and had to be carried outside. Blood was still gushing out of Zach and by the time they were all outside and the medics started treating him, it was too late. Zach had closed his eyes and never opened them again.

A month later the deployment was finally over, Harry was back at the unit chatting to everyone at the booza about what they saw, everything that went on in those crazy couple of months. He was happy all the fires had been put out and the lives that have been saved in the process but in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but feel sad. The Commanding Officer was giving a speech about bravery and how proud he was of his unit for all the hard work they had done. Everyone should hold their head high. It was a horrific few months for everyone involved and the lives that were lost in the process. A tear rolled Harry’s cheek as the CO was saying this. He would never forget his Friend Zach and what he had done that day.

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