AUSTRALIAN WAR VETERAN SAMS TALKS WITH MAJOR WRIGHT AT CHANGI CHAPEL IN SINGAPORE, 2002-10-08 (photo)

Australian war veteran Laurie Sams discusses his travel itinerary with Major Darren Wright of the Australian Defence Force at Changi Chapel in Singapore October 8, 2002. Sams is retracing the journey of the WWII prisoners of war, including his father, who worked on the Thai-Burma Death Railway after the fall of Singapore in 1942. From Singapore Sams will spend 17 days, both on foot and by train, mirroring the original journey. Sams, who is a veteran of the Vietnam war, lost a leg saving the life of a parachuting student last year, an act for which he was awarded the Star of Courage, Australia's highest honour for bravery outside wartime action. Changi was home to many allied WWII POWs during the Japanese occupation of Singapore and the chapel is a replica of a chapel built by POWs during that time. REUTERS/Jonathan Searle JS/PB