DUNSTAN, Sir Donald Beaumont
| Service Numbers: | 2289, 2289 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 February 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant General |
| Last Unit: | Lines of Communication Units |
| Born: | Murray Bridge South Australia , 18 February 1923 |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Canberra Grammar, then Murray Bridge High School followed by Prince Alfred College where he was a school cadet. |
| Occupation: | Chief of the General Staff |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Adelaide South Australia , 15 October 2011, aged 88 years |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia Cremated 25 October 2011 at Centennial Park. |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 1 Feb 1940: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1944: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Lieutenant, 2289, 27 Infantry Battalion AMF, Bougainville |
Occupation Force Japan - BCOF Service
| 23 Nov 1947: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Captain |
|---|
Korean War Service
| 1 Sep 1953: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Major, 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Mar 1954: | Involvement Major, 2289, 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) |
Non Warlike Service
| 1 Jan 1964: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Colonel, 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) |
|---|
Vietnam War Service
| 1 Jan 1968: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Colonel, HQ 1st Australian Task Force, Vietnam | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 May 1968: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Colonel, 2289, HQ 1st Australian Task Force, Vietnam, FSB Coral / Balmoral - Vietnam | |
| 1 Jul 1971: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Major General, HQ Australian Force Vietnam |
Non Warlike Service
| 1 Nov 1982: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Lieutenant General, 2289, Lines of Communication Units | |
|---|---|---|
| Date unknown: | Honoured Commander of the Order of the British Empire | |
| Date unknown: | Honoured Companion of the Order of the Bath |
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Lieutenant General Sir Donald Beaumont Dunstan, AC, KBE, CB was a distinguished Australian Army officer who served South Australia as its longest serving Governor from April 1982 - February 1991.
His career began during WW2 when he enlisted into the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1940, graduating in 1942. Active service in the SW Pacific with the 27th Battalion, the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan and service in Korea as 2IC 1RAR followed. He was appointed Commander of the Australian Task Force Vietnam in 1968/69 at the rank of Colonel, and he commanded the ATF through the TET Offensive and later engagements at Fire Support bases Coral and Balmoral of 1968 which saw the most intense large scale engagements involving the ATF. He subsequently returned in 1971 to lead the extraction and repatriation of Australian Forces. It was due to his personal insistence that Centurion tanks were deployed to Vietnam where their firepower proved to be life savers for the Australians on many occasions. His military career culminated in the top job in the Armed Services at that time, Chief of the General Staff, as a Lieutenant General, the post from which he retired in 1982 to take up the role of Governor of South Australia.
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