Jack Lang's story

John 'Jack' Lang was born in Harvey, Western Australia, in 1931. A coal miner before he enlisted, Jack signed up with three mates. He was assigned to the 67th Battalion, which would later become the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR).

Jack had served with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) in Japan after the Second World War, and was about to return home when the war started in Korea.

Jack served in Korea with 3RAR, arriving in September 1950. He recalled the pitiful situation of `the refugees and the heartbreaking sight of children piggybacking their siblings from harm's way'. He was struck by their stoicism, that despite some being injured, they did not cry or complain.

Jack recalled the difficulty of fighting in villages where operations were impeded by the presence of women and children. The fighting he remembered as chaotic and said that 'all of a sudden it would be on'. Once, when his battalion was being pushed back under enemy fire, Jack was told to run. He got a stich and halted. His mate Jonesy stopped to see what had happened, and with bullets flying around them, Jack took Jonesy's advice to run for shelter.

Jack also recollected the unbelievably cold winter, in which the ground and water wells froze. Only the issue of American clothing and United States Army K-rations (individual daily combat food rations) made it bearable.