Maori could crack jokes even in battle
I'm reading a book called "Where the Flaming Hell Are We?" about Kiwi and Aussie soldiers in WWII. This passage had me awestruck at how the Maori were up for a laugh even when death lurked. It took place when the Maori Battalion was involved in house to house fighting in Cassino, Italy: "On one occasion they found themselves on the ground floor of a ruined building, exchanging gunfire with Germans holding the floor above. The battle suddenly went quiet and, in the silence, a German voice called out in a stage whisper, 'Heinrich? Heinrich?' There was no response. The voice called again and, in the silence that followed, a Maori voice shouted from the floor below, 'Heinrich! Answer him, you bastard!'"