AHERN, Kevin Joseph
| Service Number: | 401754 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 March 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 2 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 August 1920 |
| Home Town: | Caulfield, Glen Eira, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk - Nottingham Insurance Co. |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Netherlands East Indies, 14 September 1942, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Commemorated ~ Column 8 Ambon Memorial, Maluku, Indonesia. |
| Memorials: | Ambon Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, No 2 Squadron RAAF Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 29 Mar 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman 2 (WW2), 401754, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Mar 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 401754 | |
| 14 Sep 1942: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 401754, No. 2 Squadron (RAAF), Air War SE Asia 1941-45 | |
| 14 Sep 1942: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 401754, No. 2 Squadron (RAAF), Shot Down By Flak During an Attack on A Small Ship in Saumlaki Bay in the Tanimbar Islands |
Help us honour Kevin Joseph Ahern's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Mari Walker
F/O Kevin Joseph Ahern was the son of James and Mary Ahern. In February 1939 he joined the Australian Military Forces and in June 1939 he was awarded a Commercial Clerk Certificate from the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce. On 29 March 1941, he enlisted in the RAAF.
In February 1942, Ahern was appointed as Pilot Officer and undertook his initial training at Evans Head, New South Wales. In 1942 F/O Ahern married Olive Jean (nee Upton).
F/O Ahern initially saw service with 64 Squadron and 7 Squadron before joining 2 Squadron in Darwin from 20 July 1942. In Darwin, he was involved in undertaking a number of sea patrols as well as reconnaissance missions. On 14 September 1942, whilst in a Hudson aircraft over Saumalak, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), the plane did not return to base and F/O Ahern and others were reported missing. In June 1943, official notice was received that the missing men were now presumed to have died. In February 1949 this was confirmed in a letter to one of F/O Ahern’s companions that the local inhabitants had seen a Hudson aircraft shot down but no-one appeared to have bailed out, nor were any bodies washed ashore. F/O Ahern has no known grave and is now memorialised on Panel 8, Ambon Memorial, Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia.
Biography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of James and Mary Ahern; husband of Olive Jean Ahern of East St. Kilda, Victoria
Plane was a Hudson A16-172 lost near Saumalak
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