BOURNE, Donald Mackenzie
| Service Number: | 23916 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Major |
| Last Unit: | 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR) |
| Born: | Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia, 14 February 1931 |
| Home Town: | Tamworth, Tamworth Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Soldier |
| Died: | Killed in Action, South Vietnam, 14 February 1967, aged 36 years |
| Cemetery: |
Woden (Canberra) Public Cemetery, ACT RSL. Lawn X Grave 10 , |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Grafton Clarence Valley Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Kallangur Vietnam Veterans' Place, Officer Cadet School Portsea Memorial, Port Pirie Vietnam Veterans Honour Wall, Seymour Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk Roll of Honour |
Korean War Service
| 29 Aug 1954: | Involvement 23916 | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Aug 1954: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Second Lieutenant, 23916, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) | |
| 7 Oct 1954: | Involvement 23916 | |
| 7 Oct 1954: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Second Lieutenant, 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) |
Vietnam War Service
| 22 Oct 1966: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Major, 23916 | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Feb 1967: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Major, 23916 | |
| 8 Feb 1967: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Major, 23916, 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Kearney
23916 Major Donald MacKenzie Bourne
5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
Major Bourne was killed in action at Xa An Nhut, Phuoc Tuy, from an M26 grenade booby trap on 14th February 1967.
Donald (Don) Mackenzie Bourne, of Watson, ACT, who completed a tour of duty in Korea with the 1st and 3rd Battalions, between 1954 and 1955 and later served in Malaya. As a Major, he initially served in Vietnam with Headquarters, 1st Australian Task Force before being posted to 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR) in 1967. Major Bourne was a graduate of the first class of the Officer Cadet School (OCS), at Portsea, Vic, and in early 1967 was appointed commander of C Company, 5RAR. On the morning of 14 February 1967, during preparations for Operation Beaumaris, (a cordon-and-search operation of the village of An Nhut), Major Bourne was killed by a concealed Viet Cong mine. Another Australian officer, 29635 Captain Robert Bruce Milligan, and a New Zealand Army Officer, Captain Peter Williams, were also killed, and five other men were wounded. Major Bourne was the most senior Australian officer to have been killed during the Vietnam War. He was aged 36.
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