JOHN O'CONNOR
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World War II
Jack (Nugget) O'Connor enlisted on January 29, 1943, leaving Tasmania with the engineers headed for Townsville to build a road from Cooktown to Cape York. In Townsville their commanding officer got called away, ordering them not to leave Australia. When he got back, they were on a ship to New Guinea. Maintaining and sourcing material to keep them working was a creative exercise, most of it acquired the Australian way from American bases. In 1945, Jack's appendix ruptured and septicaemia took hold. Doctors said he would die overnight and a new drug, penicillin was debated. Using it saved his life and Jack always gave thanks for the time beyond the night he was meant to die.
Lewis Pilsbury
World War II
On June 20, 1943, Lewis William 'Bill' Pilsbury stepped off a train and onto Australian soil under military control. Attached to the 12/50th Australian Infantry Battalion, Bill was part of the garrison defending Australia against Japan in the Northern Territory. The 36-year-old spent over two years there, enduring approximately 77 terrifying air raids. After the Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945, he and the 12/40th Battalion as part of Operation TIMFORCE, were sent to Timor's capital Koepang to enforce the unconditional surrender. They took control of approximately 36,000 Japanese, dumped massive amounts of arms into the sea, recovered and evacuated allied prisoners, supervised infrastructure reconstruction and restored civil administration.
Lindsay Daley
World War II
Lindsay was born in 1924 and was 18 when he joined the Australian Military Forces on September 16, 1942, in Brighton. Lindsay served in Lae, New Guinea, Morotai and Borneo, Sarawak, Scarlet Beach and Labuan. Battalions: 28th AIF Battalion, 2/15th and 9th AIF. He was awarded the 1939/45 Star, Africa Star, Pacific Star, War Medal and the Australian Service Medal. He was officially discharged on September 10, 1946. He spent most of his life on the North-West Coast with his wife Doreen, who he married when they were 22, and nine children. Lindsay was an amazing father, loved dearly by his children and grandchildren. He died in 1995 aged 71.