Frederick Timothy O'REGAN

O'REGAN, Frederick Timothy

Service Number: NX46658
Enlisted: 12 July 1940
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion
Born: Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, 12 September 1915
Home Town: Lismore, Lismore Municipality, New South Wales
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Labourer (Bush)
Died: Injuries, New Guinea, 8 September 1943, aged 27 years
Cemetery: Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea
CWGC Grave No: Section B. Plot 2. Row A. Grave 22. Inscription: "IN LOVING MEMORY. MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON HIS SOUL".
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
Show Relationships

World War 2 Service

3 Sep 1939: Involvement Private, NX46658
12 Jul 1940: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX46658, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion

Help us honour Frederick Timothy O'Regan'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 Frederick Timothy O’Regan – NX46558, was one of the 47 Australian Military personnel severely burned, succumbing to his injuries on the  8th September 1943 at the 2nd / 9th Australian General Hospital, Port Moresby .   

Read more...