Commemorating Indigenous service during the Korean War poster

Wartime snapshot

Of the 18,000 Australians who served during the Korean War and the post-armistice period, at least 60 were First Nations Australians. In the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), they are part of First Nations people's enduring service tradition.

Six First Nations Australians served with the RAN in Korea, on board HMA ships Tobruk, Sydney, Condamine and Anzac. Corporal Vince Bunda, the sole First Nations RAAF veteran, served with No 77 Squadron. At least 50 First Nations veterans of the Australian Army served in Korea, including Ned Eggleston, who fought at Kapyong. On the Roll of Honour, Edward ‘Toby’ Hazel and Stafford ‘Len’ Lenoy are both listed as killed in action.

In the 1950s, the racial conditions of the Defence Act 1903 and various state Native Protection laws were significant barriers to First Nations service. For example, Private Richard Hill served with the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR). He had to get the state's permission to join the Army. Yet First Nations Australians have persisted, overcome barriers and served with courage and honour.

In many families, service is a long and proud tradition. Yamatji men, Len Ogilvie (33 British Battalion) and Walter Ogilvie, served in Korea, part of their broader family’s service from World War I to Bosnia. Eugene and Leonard Lovett, Gumitjmara men, both Korean War veterans, are from a family in which 21 members served across generations.

In the 1950s, military service could provide the independence, education and equality denied to First Australians in everyday life. As a First Australian in 1950, Noongar man Ken Colbung could not vote or travel freely. He recalled, ‘For the first time, as a soldier, I was allowed to drink.’ Sergeant Colbung served in Japan and Korea with 2RAR and 3RAR at a time when he could not travel interstate without permission.

Motivations for service are individual, but for many, the rights and recognition of citizenship were powerful reasons. Torres Strait Islander Corporal Charles Mene was awarded the Military Medal for his actions in Korea. He said, ‘I know that I am fighting for a new world in which my people will get a better deal … I want to come back to an Australia where my people will have full rights as citizens’.

While First Nations veterans returned from Korea to a country where full citizenship was still years away, they kept pride in their accomplishments and service.

As ongoing research identifies an increasing number of First Nations people who have served Australia, the recognition of their remarkable contributions follows. It is not only individual stories that are important, but also that so many chose to serve. The stories of First Nations veterans enrich and broaden the important history of Australian service in Korea.

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