Francis 'Peter' Scott was born in Elsternwick, Victoria, in 1929. A keen cadet in his school days, Peter joined the Royal Military College – Duntroon in February 1946. He graduated as a lieutenant in the Australian Staff Corps and was posted to infantry in December 1948.
Peter was serving with the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) in Japan when the Korean War began in 1950.
Re-deployed to Korea, Peter served there from 19 July 1951 to 19 July 1952. He was a platoon commander when he first arrived. Unfortunately, Peter was evacuated almost immediately after being wounded by a grenade during a training exercise. On return to the battalion, he was appointed as Intelligence Officer and fought in the Battle of Maryang San in October 1951.
Peter recalls the fighting being particularly heavy on Hill 317. He said he felt very lucky to survive. He affectionately remembered the 3RAR commander Lieutenant Colonel Frank Hassett, who successfully planned the capture of the hill.
Peter also recalled the use of a helicopter to evacuate a wounded man from the front line, which was a new extraction method at the time.
Peter went go on to have a distinguished career in the Australian Army. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) while commanding 3RAR in Vietnam. Later, he was Commander 2nd Military District, Sydney.
