Talk:Soputa

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McGuinness[edit]

Someone removed this man from the article. The reason given was not sure if this met Wikipedia standards. I would have found it more respectful if the matter was discussed first. The Battle of Saputa was crucial to the Kokoda campaign to prevent the Japanese from taking Port Moresby. Alan Edward McGuinness was a captain in a dressing station in the jungle. They were at times surrounded on 2-3 sides and bombed from the air. The station was advised to evacuate frequently, McGuinness refused to abandon those who could not get out due to illness or injury, and continued his medical work despite the battles there and at Eora Creek. It is highly unusual for an unarmed person (such as a doctor) to be awarded a gallantry medal, especially of this high order. Both sides lost more men from illness and injury than from actual combat time. Men like McGuinness undoubtably helped tip the battle by their work and by raising morale. He became one of Australias' most illustrious doctors after the war, retiring as a Major. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Historygypsy (talk • contribs) 21:10, 1 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

This is a really interesting story and deserves to be in Wikipedia somewhere (with appropriate reliable sources), like in a biography of McGuinness or in the Kokoda Track campaign article. Where it does not belong is in article about that town. While the battle is a significant part of that town's history and is probably worth mentioning, a detail like this doesn't merit inclusion. The article for that battle is very large, should we just copy everything over into this article from that one? How do we decide which of the many, many facts surrounding that battle belong and don't belong?

I'd also recommend reading WP:BRD: you made a bold edit, I reverted it, and the next step is to discuss it. That's what's happening. I am under no obligation to leave the edit in there if I don't think it fits. Now we're discussing it which is appropriate.SQGibbon (talk) 22:51, 3 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]