Dugald MCGREGOR

MCGREGOR, Dugald

Service Number: QX32523
Enlisted: 26 May 1942, Brisbane
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion
Born: Blackmill, Taynuilt, Argyllshire, Scotland, 24 August 1904
Home Town: Chillagoe, Queensland
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Labourer
Died: Injuries, New Guinea, 7 September 1943, aged 39 years
Cemetery: Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea
CWGC Grave No: Section C. Plot 1. Row C. Grave 10. Inscription: "TO MEMORY EVER DEAR".
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Chillagoe War Memorial
Show Relationships

World War 2 Service

26 May 1942: Enlisted Private, QX32523, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion, Brisbane
26 May 1942: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX32523, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion
7 Sep 1943: Involvement Private, QX32523, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion, New Guinea - Huon Peninsula / Markham and Ramu Valley /Finisterre Ranges Campaigns

Help us honour Dugald McGregor's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

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, all 11 crew members aboard the bomber (The Pride of the Cornhuskers) were killed. Private Dugald McGregor – QX32523, was one of the 47 Australian Military personnel severely burned, succumbing to his injuries later that day at the 2nd / 9th Australian General Hospital, Port Moresby .   

Read more...