Reg Saunders

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Reginald Walter Saunders MBE (7 August 1920 - 2 March 1990) was the first Aboriginal commissioned officer in the Australian Army. Enlisting as a soldier in 1940, he served during World War II in North Africa, Greece and Crete before being commissioned as a lieutenant and serving as a platoon commander in New Guinea in 1944-45. After World War II Saunders was demobilised and returned to civilian life, however, he later served as a company commander with the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) during the Korean War. He eventually left the Army in 1954 and later worked as a liaison officer in the Office of Aboriginal Affairs, and was appointed MBE for his services in 1971. He died in 1990 aged 69.