Son of Croatian immigrants to Western Australia Leslie Thomas “Tom” Starcevic (Starcevich) received the Victoria Cross medal for his outstanding bravery. Victoria Cross is the highest decoration for gallantry “in the face of the enemy” that can be awarded to members of British and Commonwealth armed forces.
Citation
“Private Leslie Thomas ‘Tom’ Starcevich was a member of 2/43rd Australian Infantry Battalion during the capture of Beaufort, North Borneo. During the approach along a thickly wooded spur, the enemy was encountered at a position where movement off the single track leading into the enemy defences was difficult and hazardous. When the leading section came under fire from two enemy machine-gun posts and suffered casualties, Private Starcevich, who was a Bren gunner, moved forward and assaulted each post in turn. He rushed each post firing his Bren gun from the hip, killed five enemy and put the remaining occupants of the posts to flight. The advance progressed until the section came under fire from two machine gun posts which halted the section temporarily. Private Starcevich again advanced fearlessly, firing his Bren gun from the hip and ignoring the hostile fire, captured both posts single handed, disposing of seven enemy.These daring efforts enabled the Company to increase the momentum of its attack and so relieve pressure on another Company which was attacking from another direction. The outstanding gallantry of Private Starcevich in carrying out these attacks single handed with complete disregard of his own personal safety resulted in the decisive success of the action.” —London Gazette, 1945.
Lest We Forget!
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We must never forget, Ina, never!
A big hug to you
john
Indeed, John! Big hug to you too 🙂
Always remembered and never forgotten 🙂
Yes Carol – things that give sense and purpose to life <3
Americans need to remember that other countries made HUGE sacrifices, too!
If we all remember and celebrate it will all be OK. We need to remember more often and on high ground. Never forget our veterans
What a brave man!
So proud, Kendall <3
As you should be!
What an amazingly brave man. So many to remember on Anzac Day and always.
It’s the Day like ANZAC that bring everyone together, Gallivanta, amplifying gratefulness.
I agree.
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford.
It is beyond tragic why men ( and now women as well ) are forced to go to war . I feel , with sad heart , for the suffering of all soldiers and civilians in war zones , no matter where when or on which side . War is pointless bloodthirsty murder of innocent naive youth and the civilian casualties , of all ages , that get caught in the crossfire .
“All wars are bankers wars . ”
We must respect our fallen and those that survived the hell that is war . May the Lord have mercy on them for they all suffered unnecessarily .
Seriously folks , what part of Australia were we defending at Galipoli . Same can be said for our mercenaries in the Middle East today . When it comes to senseless violence not much has changed in hundreds of years . Except that now with scientific dictatorship and the invention of evermore guns the murder and suffering has increased exponentially .
It goes against all the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ .
Yes we must honour their suffering and murders , on these days of remembrance , but at the same time let us not glorify the tragedy that is inflicted on all sides when these hellish events occur .
There are no winners we all lose except for the manufacturers who profit from guns and wars .
Let’s hope the world has learned that war does not improve humanity, Anto – although I doubt the lesson has been learned when I look around.