Eric Vincent O'KEEFE

Eric Vincent O'KEEFE Update Details

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O'KEEFE, Eric Vincent

Service Number:	VX56471
Enlisted:	22 May 1941
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	2nd/2nd Pioneer Battalion
Born:	Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia, 8 April 1921
Home Town:	Dandenong, Greater Dandenong, Victoria
Schooling:	St Marys RC School, Dandenong
Occupation:	Factory worker
Died:	Illness whilst a Prisoner of the Japanese , Thailand, 4 March 1944, aged 22 years
Cemetery:	Kanchanaburi War Cemetery 1 E 62
Memorials:	Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Dandenong Shire Roll of Honour, Ringwood Country Roads Board WW2 Roll of Honour

World War 2 Service

22 May 1941:	Enlisted Private, VX56471, Royal Park, Victoria
22 May 1941:	Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, VX56471, 2nd/2nd Pioneer Battalion
4 Mar 1944:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, VX56471, 2nd/2nd Pioneer Battalion, Prisoners of War

Help us honour Eric Vincent O'Keefe's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by John Edwards

"Former Pupil Of St. Mary’s Dies In Thailand Prison Camp

PTE ERIC V. O’KEEFE, 23, only son of Mr. and Mrs. M. O’Keefe, of Hampton, who was taken prisoner of war in Java, has now been reported died of illness in Thailand. Eric, who enlisted at the age of 19, was educated at St. Mary’s, Dandenong, and was a popular employee of the Dandenong Bacon Factory. News of his death in a Japanese prison camp was a tragic blow to his parents and many friends in this district. All sympathise with Mr. and Mrs. O’Keefe in their tragic loss." - from the Dandenong Journal 28 Feb 1945 (nla.gov.au)

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