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MILLER, Keith Alexander Gladstone
Personal Details
| Service Number: | SX17640 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 February 1942, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Streaky Bay, South Australia, 15 March 1922 |
| Home Town: | Poochera, Streaky Bay, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farm labourer |
| Died: | Aircraft crash on takeoff, Jacksons Airfield, Port Moresby, PNG, New Guinea, 7 September 1943, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea C1. E. 9. |
| Memorials: | Adelaide WW2 Wall of Remembrance, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Chandada & District WW2 Memorial Trees, Streaky Bay and District Roll of Honour WW2 |
Service History
World War 2 Service
| 24 Feb 1942: | Enlisted Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Feb 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX17640, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion | |
| 7 Sep 1943: | Involvement Private, SX17640, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement |
Personal Stories
Tragedy strikes 2nd/33rd Battalion in Townsville while awaiting troop lift flight to Nadzab
The 2nd/33rd returned to Port Moresby in late July in preparation for the operations capture Lae, in New Guinea. On 7 September, while it waited near Jackson's Airfield at '7Mile' near Moresby to be flown to Nadzab, via Tsili Tsili, a fully fuelled and 'bombed up' US B-24 Liberator bomber crashed on take off among the trucks carrying the battalion. Sixty men, mainly from D Company, were killed and 92 injured. This represented a third of the battalion's fatal casualties for the entire war.
The remnants of the battalion were flown to Nadzab on 8 September and subsequently participated in the advance on Lae, which fell on 16 September.
Submitted 7 September 2017 by Steve Larkins
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