The story centres on Australian sapper Bert Beros and a poem he wrote during the fighting on the Kokoda Track. Beros pulled a pencil stub from his pocket while sitting on a muddy hillside. Using the small scrap, he recorded a nostalgic reflection on the ordeal of Australian soldiers on the track. The passage recalls the campaign’s bloody conditions and the mud endured by the troops. The poem is presented as a personal keepsake from Beros’s time in the conflict. The article, titled 'A Debt of Gratitude,' first appeared in Post Courier. Full access requires a paid Web or Web & eBook subscription, with one-day, 14-day, one-month, three-month, six-month and annual plans.