'Waltzing Matilda' inspires Australian Cope North squad leader with an American accent

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam — The Jolly Swagman is an Australian legend, but the much-loved sheep rustler shares some core values with his American cousins, according to a Royal Australian Air Force squadron leader involved in this month’s Cope North drills on and around Guam.

Like all good Aussies, Group Capt. Hinton Tayloe knows the words to “Waltzing Matilda” by heart. Australia’s unofficial national anthem tells the tale of a poacher who leaps to his death in a billabong (oxbow lake) to avoid capture by the police.

What’s unusual is that Tayloe recites the bush ballad with an American accent.

Born and raised in Hollywood, Fla., he flew F-18 Hornet combat jets in the U.S. Navy for eight years before heading Down Under 21 years ago and embarking on an Australian military career.

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