General of honour
First CO 3RAR, an inspirational general marches on

Welcoming party for Maj-Gen Kenneth MacKay on his arrival in Vietnam in 1966 as Commander of the Australian Force Vietnam (AFV). Photo provided by AWM

Maj-Gen Mackay understood the men under his command and was highly regarded: WO2 Kevin (Dasher) Arthur Wheatley VC, AATTV, standing on the roadside near Saigon.

WO2 Wheatley was awarded a VC posthumously for action against the Viet Cong. Sgt Thomas Derrick, led his platoon to demoralise an overwhelming enemy to later allow the company to capture the township of Sattelberg in New Guniea, 1943.

By Cpl Cameron Jamieson

ANOTHER remarkable chapter in the military history of Australia has closed with the recent passing of Maj-Gen Kenneth MacKay (rtd).

In a career that spanned five decades, Maj-Gen MacKay led a military life that constantly saw him in a position of influence and responsibility.

He entered RMC in 1934 and graduated into the artillery arm of the Royal Australian Staff Corps.

During WW2, he served with distinction in the Middle East and New Guinea.

While in the Middle East, he attended the UK Commando Instructors Course, which then led to him raising and training the 9th Australian Division’s Commando Unit.

In 1944, he was awarded the MBE for his service in New Guinea.

Later in the same year he was posted to the War Office in London to work in a top-secret section that directly served the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.

Post-war he commanded the 67th Bn in Japan, becoming the first CO of 3RAR when the 67th was re-designated as 3RAR in November 1948.

Maj-Gen MacKay later served in Korea with 1RAR and then went on to serve in a number of command appointments.

In 1966, he became the commander of the Australian forces in Vietnam, and later served as Commander 1 Div.

Finally in 1973, he was appointed the General Officer commanding Field Force Command (the forerunner to Land Commander – Australia) ,before retiring in 1974.

Maj-Gen MacKay was a quiet and private man whose experiences in war made him a champion of peace.

He was also a champion of his soldiers, and it was a point of pride for him that he had been the originating officer for the award of two VCs to Australian soldiers, Thomas Derrick in WW2, and Kevin Wheatley in Vietnam.

Perhaps the greatest lesson of his life was learnt before he went to war, back in 1939 when he was a young officer posted to the North Head Fort in Sydney as a coastal artillery officer.

A local man had fallen off a cliff and lay stranded and unconscious, with both legs broken.

MacKay was lowered by rope with a canvas stretcher to recover the man and guide the stretcher back up over the rocky outcrops.

As he was pulled back to the top of the cliff, the ropes cut deeply into him.

He realised that if he could not contain his fatigue and pain he would lose his patient.

So amidst the darkness, wind and pain he found a place inside him where he could contain the pain for just long enough to complete his mission.

This was a lesson he would call upon many times later in life, and for his bravery that night he was awarded a Royal Humane Society Bronze Medal.

Maj-Gen Kenneth MacKay is survived by his wife and three children.