DONALD and Peter Field, identical twins, were born in 1924 in Launceston, Tasmania. "The trouble began when we started school," Don Field recalls with amusement. "After a couple of days a note was sent home to my mother saying: 'We don't know one boy from the other.' So I had a D embroidered on my shirt and Peter had a P."
When "P" was six he contracted rheumatic fever, which caused permanent damage to his heart. "From then on, Peter wasn't allowed to carry anything," Don Field recalls. "He wasn't allowed to play any sport and he wasn't allowed to run."
In 1939, the war began and by 1942 Japan had made spectacular advances, capturing a vast area stretching to New Guinea.
The brothers, then 17, were keen to enlist. "I went home to my father and said I wanted to join the army. We thought it was only a matter of weeks before Australia would be invaded."
Although Don was two years shy of the minimum army enlistment age, his father gave permission for him to sign up. But he insisted Peter would never be allowed to join, "not with a heart like that". On this point, the boys' father underestimated the twins' resourcefulness. On March 31, 1942, the boys presented at Ripponlea drill hall in Melbourne for the military medical examination. The captain in charge worked his way through the alphabetical roster and when he reached "Field, D.C.", Don went forward for the examination. The surgeon captain took careful measurement of his height, noted the colour of his eyes and hair, examined his heart, and finally certified him fit for service. Don emerged from behind the curtain and disappeared into the washroom with Peter. The boys quickly swapped clothing and were back in place before Peter's name, next on the list, was called. When the captain announced "Field, P.C.", recalls Field, "I went behind the curtain again to see the doctor I'd just seen minutes before.
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