Author(s): HALL ROBERT A.

Australia | Secondhand

Thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people served their country during the Second World War and this book focuses on the experiences of six: Oodgeroo Noonuccal was a wireless operator whose brothers were prisoners of war; Reg Saunders served in Greece and New Guinea, as the first Aboriginal officer in the Australian Army, and later in Korea; Leonard Waters trained and served as the first Aboriginal fighter pilot; Charles Mene, a Torres Strait Islander, served throughout the war and was awarded the Military Medal in the Korean War; Saulo Waia, a pearl fisher, defended the Strait with fellow soldiers while non-indigenous people were evacuated; Other Islanders like Tom Lowah gave years of service and received lower pay than white servicemen.