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The girlfriend of a navy officer who was punched in the face on a train in Sydney's south-west says her partner had been standing up to a group who were disrespecting decorated veterans on their way home from Anzac Day commemorations. Emma Novotny said her partner took a blow to the face after he swivelled to face his attacker, who came up behind him as he tried to leave the train. "I'm surprised he wasn't knocked to the ground because it was a king hit," Ms Novotny said. "We thought he might have had his tooth knocked out because there was a lot of blood coming out of his mouth, but it was just his nose." The couple were returning to Glenfield from Circular Quay by train on Monday afternoon after going out for lunch in the city. The naval officer, who has asked not to be identified, had earlier taken part in the Anzac Day march and he was wearing his uniform. Ms Novotny said a group of four men and a woman aged in their early 20s also boarded the carriage and sat down next to some veterans wearing medals. Some families with small children were also in the carriage. The group were carrying alcohol, swearing and clearly inebriated. "One of the war veterans said to the people, 'Can you please stop swearing because there's young children around, there's families around,' and they continued to spill alcohol everywhere," Ms Novotny said. "It reeked of alcohol, the whole carriage." The mother of some young children called the help button and was advised by security that police were on their way. "By this point [the train] had got to Kingsgrove and the war veteran looked quite frightened. "I said to [my partner], 'That poor old man, like he looks so scared,' and [my partner] stood up and said, 'Stop the swearing, it's Anzac Day, have a little bit of respect for the young children and the war veterans on the train.' "And they bit back and said, 'We'll do what we want.' "They were being so disrespectful ... They were facing the war veterans and saying, 'We don't care about Anzac Day.' As the train continued, the group became so intoxicated that some of them could barely stand. A woman on the train later told Ms Novotny that she saw one of the men urinate in his pants and vomit. The war veterans got off the train and some other passengers had changed carriages by the time the train pulled into Glenfield, but as the couple stood to alight a member of the group criticised the naval officer again for wearing his uniform. Ms Novotny went to ask the guards to stop the train, and, by the time she returned, her partner's face was plastered with blood. "Everyone was really shocked; they were like, 'What just happened?' They saw that someone was in navy uniform and he had blood everywhere." His attacker identified himself to security, but left the station before police arrived. "He walked up the stairs, and next thing we saw him running." Ms Novotny said he had a large build but was not tall, that he wore long, green khaki pants and an oversized black T-shirt, and the group were bound for Campbelltown before they chose to get out at Glenfield. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. smh.com.au

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