FIELDER, Walter William
| Service Number: | VX87009 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 August 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Brunswick, Victoria, Australia, 22 August 1922 |
| Home Town: | Brunswick, Moreland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Geelong College, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labouring |
| Died: | Accidental (Aircraft crashed), New Guinea, 7 September 1943, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea CWGC Grave No: Section C. Plot 1. Row C. Grave 16. Inscription: "HIS LIFE A PROUD AND LOVING MEMORY A TRUE COMRADE" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Aug 1942: | Enlisted Private, VX87009, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion |
|---|
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
Biography contributed by Stephen Bonald
On Tuesday, September 7th, 1943, at Jackson Field in Port Moresby, New Guinea, a B-24D Liberator bomber (The Pride of the Cornhuskers) from the 403rd Bomber Squadron, 43rd Bombing Group USAAF, crashed during take-off, likely due to pilot disorientation in the dark. The aircraft hit trees and slammed into a convoy of trucks carrying over 130 soldiers from D Company, 2/33 Infantry Battalion of the Australian Army, who were waiting to board C-47 transport planes to move to the front lines. The bomber’s 500-pound bombs and 2,800 gallons of fuel exploded, killing 15 Australian soldiers instantly and severely injuring 47 more, who later died. Another 90 soldiers were wounded but survived, and all 11 crew members aboard the bomber were killed. Private William Walter Fielder – VX87009 was one of the 15 Australian Military personnel killed on impact.
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