Jack Wong Sue
Jack Wong Sue | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance |  Australia |
| Service/ | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Service number | 83783 |
| Unit | No. 82 Operational Base Unit RAAF Z Special Unit ("Z Force") |
| 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 in several different capacities during World War II, most notably as a member of the commando/special reconnaissance unit "Z Force" (known officially as Z Special Unit), behind enemy lines in Borneo.
After the war, Wong Sue was a prominent businessman, owning a diving store in the Perth suburb of Midland. He was also an author, a consultant for the Australian Defence Force, a guide for tours of Borneo and a musician, who performed with bands in Perth for about 60 years.
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 and commando unit, Z Special Unit (usually known as Z Force), and 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. He served behind enemy lines in Borneo for six months.
Wong Sue later claimed to have witnessed the last of the three separate Sandakan Death Marches (June-August 1945), as well as mistreatment of Allied prisoners of war at the infamous POW camp concerned, near Sandakan, North Borneo.
He reached the substantive rank of Leading Aircraftsman,[3] but acted as a Sergeant for an extended period and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). Wong Sue was also awarded the United States Submarine Combat Insignia.[4]
In 2010, Australian military historian Lynette Silver disputed claims made by Wong Sue in his memoirs and said that official archives prove that he "lied".[5] In particular, she questioned Wong Sue's claims that he:
- single-handedly killed a group of Japanese soldiers at Terusan, Borneo in May 1945, thereby saving the life of Lieutenant Don Harlen, as there were no enemy personnel in the area at the time;
- took part in a raid on the Japanese garrison at Pitas on June 13, 1945, as he is not named in records of the action, and;
- witnessed the last Sandakan Death March as he was in hospital when it occurred (and was elsewhere when the other marches took place);
Silver commented that she "was shattered" by her discoveries regarding Wong Sue's memoirs.
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.[6]
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" (PDF). Australia-China Friendship Society, Sydney. 1988. 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)
- ^ "WW2 Nominal Roll, WONG SUE, JACK". Australian Government. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
- ^ a b "It's an Honour website". Australian Government. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ^ Rod Moran (2010-07-10). ""Historian casts doubt on war hero's record", The West Australian". Retrieved 2010-10-20.
- ^ World War II hero dies, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 16 November 2009.