1941-1946 War Service

Tom O'Brien served in the Australian Military Forces from 1941 to 1946, performing two rotations with the 2/7th Commando Squadron in New Guinea.

Enlistment & Training

Tom received his call-up notice at age 19, while working as a stockman on Glengyle Station in far northern South Australia.

After travelling back to Adelaide, Tom enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces at Kensington Barracks on Dec 18th, 1941.  After some months working in munitions and the Repair and Salvage Ops, Tom was assigned to the Independent Company and transferred to Foster, Victoria.  The unit was "schooled in bush guerrilla warfare" at Wilson's Promontory.  At this point it was mid-winter 1942 and Tom recalls running a mile down the beach before plunging into the local river (which was icy on the surface), before running back to camp through the sand-hills for breakfast.  This was prior to commencing the actual day's training.

Tom was assigned to the 2/7th Independent Company and completed additional training at Townsville before flying out to Port Moresby.

Tom recalls having some spare time on his hands while waiting to fly out to New Guinea.  Days were normally spent at the pub with eating followed by drinking until the beer ran out.  Late in the day on one such occasion, a member of the unit stood up and declared "Well.  I'm going to get some tattoos!  Who's coming with me?".  To Tom's disappointment, the next morning he realised he had gotten a number of tattoos as well.

Active Service

Australia was wakened to the threat of invasion in 1942, when the Philippines and Manila fell to Japanese troops in January and Darwin was bombed by Japanese carrier planes in February.

Australia formed a number of independent (commando) units to operate independent of higher command, conducting long range patrols for reconnaissance and raid missions.  Tom flew to Port Moresby with the 2/7th Independent Company on October 5th, 1942 and from there to Wau in January 1943.  During the time at Wau, the 2/7th conducted patrols, later took part in the defense of Wau and helped push the Japanese back to Mubo.

In May 1943, the 2/7th was flown to Bena Bena to reinforce the existing garrison and conduct patrols to harry and push back the Japanese, including the Ramu Valley.  Tom celebrated his 21st birthday in June.  In October the Company began patrols along the Faria, Iogi and Evapia rivers before being relieved in mid November.

Tom does not recall these flights in the hills at all fondly.  Due to the rugged terrain, there are no level runways on the ridges, and they are very short.  Planes land uphill to slow down and take off downhill, dropping from the end of the runway until they make enough lift to start climbing.  Given the constant cloud cover it's hard to know where the ground starts - not a settling thing!

The Company returned to Port Moresby through Dumpu, then traveled on to Townsville on December 11th, 1943.  The company then spent close to 18 months on garrison duty in Far North Queensland, participating in exercises and training in the Atherton Tablelands.

Tom returned to New Guinea on May 31, 1945 to join the final operations in the conflict, which for the 2/7th was based around the north coast between Aitape and Wewak.

While in New Guinea, Tom recalls successfully panning for gold and collecting some quantity of the stuff, but unfortunately it was all stolen.  In a quiet moment Tom also gave himself another small tattoo with hot needle and ink.  It must have looked like a professional job, as Tom was asked by another of the blokes to do a tattoo for him too -- and he obliged.

Jungle warfare took it's toll.  Tom was evacuated to hospital numerous times for afflictions including Rubella, Beri Beri, a 'poisoned hand', chronic tonsillitis and numerous recurrences of severe Malaria.

Indeed after he was discharged from the AIF, Tom weighed a mere 7 stone (about 45kg).  Some months after returning to Adelaide, a fellow hospital patient recognised Tom in the street with some surprise - given his condition, the fellow thought Tom would not have survived.

Discharge

Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, Tom returned to the New Guinea Deployment Depot in Lae, where he stayed until returning to Australia on February 10th, 1946.  The posting in Lae afforded some time for recreation and Tom used some of his munitions skills to go grenade fishing with some of the boys on the local out-rigger boats.  This also required some agility: take your turn to jump in and get the fish before they recovered AND before the sharks came!

Tom spent his final months of service in Adelaide before being discharged at Wayville on June 21st, 1946 - the day his birthday - at the age of 24.

Service Medals

Tom received 4 service medals:

• Pacific Star: for operational service in the Pacific
• Australia Service Medal: for full time duty exceeding 18 months
• War Medal 1939/45: Full time duty personnel of the Armed Forces
• 1939/45 Star: Operational Service in New Guinea during WWII

A final note
Tom's personal records contained the following poem, handwritten most likely during the war, summing up the feeling and hardships of the time.

Memories

Who may speak, and know they speak with truth
Of dreams that fill a soldiers heart;
A soldier on the battle path.

Thoughts of home, of love,
Of peaceful hills and shaded waterfalls
Strangled memories, crushed when born
Lest duty's eye be dimmed.

Those days when once he roamed,
In peaceful happiness,
O'er cattle dotted, dusty plains;
Of lonely nights beneath the starlit sky.

And brightening all, those days ahead,
Of peace and joy,
When bloody battle ends,
And love will be reborn.

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References and further detail:

• Australian War Memorial unit diaries, service records and publications
• Wikipedia
• Wau-Salamaua 1942-43; Department of Veterans Affairs, Canberra, 2006
• Stories and personal records from Tom O'Brien