Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Raised at Morotai, Netherlands East Indies in late 1945 to serve as one of three (65th, 66th and 67th)  Australian Infantry Battalions in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan.  These units later (in 1948) became the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment respectively, and became the nucleus of the post-war regular Army. Their unit titles are abbreviated 1,2 and 3RAR. 

The Australian units were based at Kure, formerly a massive Imperial Japanese Navy base.

By early 1950, the 1st and 2nd Battalions had been rotated out of Japan back to Australia.   When the Korean War broke out, 3 RAR, No. 77 Squadron RAAF and RAN elements were assigned under command of a British Command struture itself suboridinated to the UN-endorsed. 3RAR served throughout the Korean War.  1 and 2RAR also returned to serve in Korea.

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