Reg Saunders Reginald Walter Saunders MBE ( 7 August 1920 – 2 March 1990 ) was the first Aboriginal Australian to be commissioned as an officer in the Australian Army . He came from a military family , his forebears having served in the Boer War and the First World War . Enlisting as a soldier in 1940 , he saw action during the Second World War in North Africa , Greece and Crete before being commissioned as a lieutenant and serving as a platoon commander in New Guinea during 1944 – 45 . His younger brother Harry also joined the Army , and was killed in 1942 . After the war Saunders was demobilised and returned to civilian life . He later served as a company commander with the 3rd Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 3 RAR ) during the Korean War , where he fought at the Battle of Kapyong . Saunders left the Army in 1954 and worked in the logging and metal industries before joining the Office of Aboriginal Affairs ( later the Department of Aboriginal Affairs ) as a liaison officer in 1969 . In 1971 , he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire ( MBE ) for his community service . He died in 1990 , aged 69 . Early life . Saunders was born near Purnim on the Framlingham Aboriginal Reserve in western Victoria on 7 August 1920 . He was a member of the Gunditjmara people . His father , Chris , was a veteran of the First World War , having served as a machine gunner in the Australian Imperial Force . One of his uncles , William Reginald Rawlings , who was killed in action and after whom Saunders was named , had been awarded the Military Medal for service with the 29th Battalion in France . Another ancestor , John Brook , fought with the Victorian Rifles and the Australian Commonwealth Horse in the Boer War . Saunders ' mother died in 1924 from complications caused by pneumonia while giving birth to her third child , a girl , who also died . After this , his father moved to Lake Condah in Victoria , with Reg and his younger brother , Harry , born in 1922 . As their father undertook various labouring jobs , the two boys were raised largely by their grandmother . Saunders attended the local mission school at Lake Condah , where he did well in maths , geometry and languages . His father , meanwhile , taught Reg and Harry about the bush , and encouraged them to read Shakespeare and Australian literature . After completing eight years of schooling , Saunders earned his merit certificate . His formal education thus ended , he went to work at the age of 14 as a millhand in a sawmill . Employers regularly withheld payments for Aboriginal labourers at this time ; however , Saunders refused to work unless he was paid his full entitlement , and his employer relented . He worked and furthered his education until 1937 , when he went into business with his father and brother operating a sawmill in Portland , Victoria ; the sawmill was destroyed in a bushfire in 1939 . Second World War . Following the outbreak of the Second World War , Saunders was determined to serve in the armed forces . Patriotism and his family ' s history of soldiering both played a major part in his decision . His father , however , suggested that he wait six months ; according to Reg , " They were talking about this war being all over in six months with the Maginot Line and all the other garbage that we were told . . . But we waited six months and the duck season was over so there was no more shooting to do except go to war " . Saunders enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force on 24 April 1940 , joining up with friends he had made while playing Australian rules football . The armed forces later adopted a policy to accept only persons " substantially of European origin or descent " , but at the time Saunders encountered no barriers to his enlistment . He recalled that his fellow soldiers " were not colour - conscious " , and that during training in northern Queensland his white mates would sit alongside him in the " Aboriginal " section of movie theatres . His natural leadership qualities gained him temporary promotions in quick succession : within six weeks of enlistment he was a lance corporal , and within three months he had made temporary sergeant . After completing his training , Saunders was allocated to an infantry unit , the 2 / 7th Battalion , which was serving overseas in North Africa at the time . Upon reaching the 2 / 7th , Saunders reverted to the rank of private . His first experience of war came fighting the Italians around Benghazi . In early April 1941 , the 6th Division , to which the 2 / 7th belonged , was sent to Greece to help defend against a German invasion . Following a series of withdrawals , the battalion was evacuated on 26 April , embarking upon the " Costa Rica " at Kalamata . It was originally bound for Alexandria , but after the ship was attacked in Suda Bay by German aircraft and began to sink , the men from the 2 / 7th , including Saunders , were picked up by several British destroyers and disembarked on the island of Crete . The 2 / 7th was subsequently allocated to the island ' s defending garrison . Following the invasion of Crete in May 1941 , the 2 / 7th Battalion was initially employed in a coastal defence role before taking part in the fighting around Canea . After this it took part in a devastating bayonet charge at 42nd Street along with the New Zealand Maori Battalion , which killed almost 300 Germans and briefly checked their advance . It was during this battle that Saunders killed his first opponent : " . . . I saw a German soldier stand up in clear view about thirty yards away . He was my first sure kill . . . I can remember for a moment that it was just like shooting a kangaroo . . . just as remote . " As the Allies began to evacuate the island , the 2 / 7th was called upon to carry out a series of rearguard actions in order to allow other units to be taken off the island . After the final Allied ships departed the island on 1 June 1941 , the battalion was left behind . As a result , many of its men were taken prisoner ; some were able to evade capture , however , by hiding out in the hills and caves around the island . Adopting Cretan dress , learning the dialect , and enlisting the help of a number of local inhabitants , Saunders managed to remain hidden for eleven months . Saunders was among a party of men evacuated from Crete by a British submarine in May 1942 , and returned to Australia in October . He rejoined his old unit , the 2 / 7th Battalion , which had re - formed in Palestine and been brought back to Australia along with the rest of the 6th Division to help defend against the threat posed by Japan ' s entry into the war . In November 1942 , Saunders ' younger brother Harry , who had enlisted shortly after him in 1940 , was killed in action while serving in New Guinea with the 2 / 14th Battalion . When Harry had joined up , Reg recalled , " I was angry because I was the only one that was supposed to go . . . . with two of us there , one of us was going to get killed . . . " The elder Saunders subsequently served in New Guinea as well , fighting in the Salamaua – Lae campaign in mid - 1943 where , having again been promoted temporary sergeant , he took over command of a platoon when its commander was wounded in action . For his leadership , he was recommended for a commission by his commanding officer , Lieutenant Colonel Henry Guinn . When Guinn told him of his plan , however , Saunders laughed and said , " I don ' t want to be an officer . . . I ' d rather be Regimental Sergeant Major " . Guinn responded , " Christ , they don ' t make boys RSMs " . Saunders went before an officer selection board that had been set up on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland , where the units of the 6th Division had been based following their return from New Guinea . The interview panel on the board consisted of three senior officers – all experienced infantry battalion commanders – who were tasked with determining a candidate ' s suitability for commissioning as an infantry officer . Saunders was found to be an acceptable candidate and posted to an officer training unit in Seymour , Victoria . Upon completion of the 16 - week course , he was promoted to lieutenant in November 1944 , becoming the first Aboriginal commissioned officer in the Australian Army . The precedent of his commissioning had caused the Army some concern due to its " special significance " , and as a result the paperwork for its confirmation was eventually sent to the Commander - in - Chief , General Sir Thomas Blamey , for approval . Nevertheless , Blamey is reported to have " insisted upon following the usual procedure " , believing that there should be no difference in the way Saunders ' commission should be treated to any other soldier who had completed the necessary training . The story garnered much press coverage in Australia , most of it favourable if in parts paternalistic . After his promotion was confirmed , Saunders returned to New Guinea and , although it was contrary to policy , rejoined his old battalion . He subsequently took part in the Aitape – Wewak campaign , commanding a platoon until the end of the war . Due to the discriminatory laws in force at the time , Saunders had fewer rights as a citizen than the white Australians he led . He was wounded in the knee by Japanese gunfire during fighting around Maprik , and was hospitalised for three weeks as a result . Interbellum and Korean War . Following the end of the Second World War , Saunders was discharged from the Army on 5 October 1945 , and returned to Australia . He volunteered for service in Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force , but the government would not accept Aborigines for the operation . Saunders spoke publicly against this policy , calling it " narrow - minded and ignorant " . The wartime restriction on non - European enlistments in the armed forces was not lifted until 1949 . Saunders moved to Melbourne with his family , which by this time consisted of his wife Dorothy , whom he had married in 1944 , and their three young children . Dorothy had served in the Women ' s Auxiliary Australian Air Force during the war . Saunders recalled that he " had a hard time after the war . . . and poor old Dotty , she , you know , didn ' t know what the hell to make of it " . Facing discrimination that he had rarely encountered as a soldier , he worked in the ensuing years as a tram conductor , a foundry worker , and a shipping clerk . After the Korean War broke out , in August 1950 the government called for Second World War veterans to volunteer to serve in Korea as part of a specially raised force known as ' K ' Force . Saunders volunteered and returned to the Army as a lieutenant . After undertaking training at Puckapunyal , Victoria , and then in Japan in late September , Saunders arrived in Korea in November 1950 . He served with the 3rd Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 3 RAR ) , initially as a platoon commander in A Company . In February 1951 , he took charge of A Company when its commander was wounded ; he was subsequently given command of C Company . Having been promoted to captain , Saunders led C Company during the Battle of Kapyong in April , when 3 RAR and a Canadian battalion held off a Chinese division north - east of the South Korean capital Seoul . Frustrated by the conduct of the war prior to Kapyong , afterwards he recorded that , " At last I felt like an Anzac and I imagine there were 600 others like me " . The 3rd Battalion was awarded a US Presidential Unit Citation for its part in the action . Saunders himself was recommended for a decoration but turned it down . Leading a Vickers machine gun platoon at the Battle of Maryang San in October , he reportedly shared the following exchange with a fellow 3 RAR officer : as they surveyed the forbidding mountain before them , Saunders ' companion remarked , " No country for white men " , to which Saunders replied , " It ' s no country for black men , either " . He returned to Australia in November 1951 . Later life . In 1953 the Returned and Services League ( RSL ) , a veterans organisation , recommended Saunders for inclusion in the official Australian contingent to the coronation of Elizabeth II , but the Federal government rejected the suggestion . Following his service in the Korean War , Saunders remained in the Army overseeing training for national servicemen at Puckapunyal . Away from active service , however , he soon became dissatisfied and in 1954 was discharged at his own request . The same year , he married an Irish nurse , Pat Montgomery ; his first marriage had broken down soon after he returned from Korea . Saunders went to work in the logging industry in Gippsland , after which he moved to Sydney , where he was employed by the Austral Bronze Company . Seen by many as a role model and spokesman for Aboriginal Australians , in 1969 Saunders took up a position in the Office of Aboriginal Affairs as one of its first liaison officers . Among his tasks was promulgating information on recently legislated Federal funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and schooling , following up on recommendations made to government departments , and liaising with Aboriginal welfare groups . He later acknowledged , " I felt a sense of leadership of Aboriginal people and a desire to do something about the Aboriginal situation , yes , yes " . His community work was recognised in the Queen ' s Birthday Honours of June 1971 when he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire ( MBE ) in the Civil Division . He continued to serve with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in Canberra until retiring in 1980 . In July 1985 he was appointed to the Council of the Australian War Memorial , and held this position until his retirement . He was also involved in the RSL , though he fell out with leaders Alf Garland and Bruce Ruxton over Garland ' s suggestion that Aborigines be blood - tested to determine their entitlement to government benefits . " They can take all the blood they want from me , " Saunders declared in a 1986 interview , " and they ' ll never find out what I am – least of all an Aborigine – bloody stupid ! " During his two marriages , both of which ended in divorce , Saunders fathered ten children , two of whom predeceased him . Having suffered recent heart trouble , he died on 2 March 1990 . His ashes were scattered on Lake Condah , traditional territory of the Gunditjmara people . Of Saunders ' children , one of his sons followed him into the Army , while four of his daughters married soldiers . His son Christopher portrayed him in a 1978 episode of the television series " The Sullivans " . On 14 December 2001 , he was honoured with the dedication of Reg Saunders Way , which passes through the Canberra suburbs of Campbell and Russell , in a ceremony attended by the Secretary of Defence , Dr Allan Hawke , and the Chief of the Defence Force , Admiral Chris Barrie . Saunders was also commemorated with a room in the Canberra Services Club , and by the RSL ' s Captain Reg Saunders Scholarship . The Australian War Memorial holds Saunders ' medals and several personal effects in its national collection , along with an official portrait and a number of photographs .