Media Room: Media Releases

WWII Z FORCE VETERAN PASSES AWAY

The Commanding Officer of HMAS Stirling, CAPT Brett Dowsing, expressed his condolences today on behalf of Navy at the passing of revered 84-year-old WWII Z Force veteran, Jack Wong Sue.

“Jack Sue was a highly respected West Australian who served his country with great distinction,” said CAPT Dowsing. “He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions in WWII and in 2006 was made a Member of the Order of Australia. He will be sadly missed by the local Perth ex-serving and current military community.”

After joining the Royal Australian Air Force for WWII, as a 19-year-old Jack Wong Sue served as a member of Z Force, a special operations unit formed to operate behind enemy lines in South East Asia. After WWII he became a recognised author, prominent businessman, Justice of the Peace and well-regarded musician in Perth for around 60 years.

In his book “Blood on Borneo”, Mr Sue recounted his experiences with his Z Force colleagues and gave an insight into the mistreatment that occurred in the prisoner of war camps – the most notorious of these being the Sandakan camp in North Borneo.

He returned to Perth after being discharged from the RAAF in January 1946 and subsequently opened a diving equipment store in Midland.  He was so highly regarded by the military that, although remaining a civilian, he later instructed and advised members of the Australian Army’s SAS Regiment in jungle warfare.

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