| Jack Wong Sue | |
|---|---|
| 12 September 1925 – 16 November 2009 (aged 84) | |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Service number | 83783 |
| Unit | 82 Operational Base Unit Z Special Unit |
| Awards | Distinguished Conduct Medal (1950) Medal of the Order of Australia (2006) |
Jack Wong Sue, OAM, DCM, JP also known as Jack Sue (12 September 1925 – 16 November 2009) was a prominent Chinese Australian from Perth, Western Australia. Wong Sue served behind enemy lines in Borneo as a member of Z Force (also known as Z Special Unit), during World War II.
After the war, Wong Sue became a prominent businessman, owning a diving store in Perth. He was also an author and worked as a guide for tours of Borneo. Wong Sue was also a musician and performed with bands in Perth for about 60 years.
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War service
Following the outbreak of the Pacific War, and although he was only 16, Wong Sue was given a white feather, a symbol of perceived cowardice sometimes presented to men of military age in wartime. In spite of his age, Wong Sue was able to join the Norwegian Merchant Navy by claiming to be 18 and forging his parents' signatures.
Following many hazardous wartime voyages on merchant ships, Wong Sue attempted to join the Royal Australian Navy when he turned 18. He claimed that he was rejected as a result of racism, due to his Chinese descent. Although the Australian armed services did not have an official policy which rejected non-white applicants, there is evidence that discrimination did occur.[1] On 25 September 1943, Wong Sue joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and became a crew member on RAAF crash rescue boats.
Because of his Asian appearance and fluency in the Malay and Chinese languages, Wong Sue was asked to join the Allied intelligence/commando unit, Z Force, and he received jungle warfare training at Fraser Island, Queensland and advanced jungle training at Cairns.
During 1945, Wong Sue was among members of Z Force landed in Borneo, as part of Operations Agas 1 and Agas 3.[2] Groups of five to 25 commandos carried out surveillance, sabotage, attacks against Japanese forces, and the training of Bornean resistance forces. Wong Sue served behind enemy lines in Borneo for six months.
While in Borneo, Wong Sue witnessed the mistreatment of Allied prisoners of war at the infamous Sandakan camp, in North Borneo, as well as the failure of Allied military leaders to enable rescue operations, before all but six of the POWs died, as a result of the Sandakan Death Marches.
He reached the rank of Sergeant[3][dead link] (some sources indicate that he was a Leading Aircraftsman) and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). He was also awarded the United States Submarine Combat Insignia. [4]
Return to civilian life
Wong Sue was discharged from the RAAF on 21 January 1946, after which he returned to Perth and subsequently opened a retail store devoted to diving equipment in Midland, the first such store in Western Australia.
Although he remained a civilian, Wong Sue later instructed and advised members of the Australian Army's SAS Regiment in jungle tactics.
His published works include two books published circa 2001: a memoir of his military service, Blood on Borneo (ISBN 0-646-41656-1) and; a collection of anecdotes regarding a 1963 shipwreck, Ghost of the Alkimos (ISBN 0-646-42801-2).
In 2006, Wong Sue was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia, "For service to the community, particularly through the preservation and recording of military and maritime history."[4]
Wong Sue died in a Perth hospice, aged 84, on 16 November 2009.[5]
See also
Books
- Sue, Jack Wong (2001). Blood on Borneo. L. Smith (WA) Pty Ltd. ISBN 978-0-64641-656-4.
References
- ^ According to Mo Yimei: "It is estimated that there were probably more Chinese serving in the Australian forces than any other minority group in Australia. Although Chinese applicants were still to some extent discriminated against, prominent examples can still be found in the forces." (""Harvest of Endurance: a History of the Chinese in Australia 1788-1988"". Australia-China Friendship Society, Sydney. 1988. http://www.multiculturalaustralia.edu.au/doc/yimei_1.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-28.)
- ^ Agas is a Malay word for "gnat". Agas 3 was also known as Phase IV of Operation Stallion. Ooi Keat Gin, "Prelude to invasion: covert operations before the re-occupation of Northwest Borneo, 1944-45", Journal of the Australian War Memorial (No. 37, October 2002)
- ^ "Members service record". Australian War Memorial. http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
- ^ a b "It's an Honour website". Australian Government. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1069314&search_type=simple&showInd=true. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ^ World War II hero dies, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 16 November 2009.
External links
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