Private Geoffrey McCunnie - 5/1480

 

Private Geoffrey McCunnie is remembered on the WA State War Memorial and is on the WA Military Roll of Honour, but I am unsure about the nature of his connection to WA.  Perhaps he enlisted for the Korean Special Forces in WA.  Until McCunnie’s military records are digitalized and available from the National Archives of Australia, the WA connection remains unknown. 

McCunnie was born and grew up in Terang in Western Victoria. He was born there on 30 December 1928 and died at the age of 22 during the battle of Kowang San in Korea on 8th October 1951.  His mother was still living in Terang at the date of his death.

The McCunnie’s were a Catholic family and Geoffrey was their youngest son.  One of his older brothers enlisted in World War II and another brother, a Catholic priest), spent a period of time just after the war as a part time chaplain to the Air Force.  Their records are available at the National Archives, but it is impossible to find McCunnie’s records. I am hoping that my recent email to the National Archives yields further information about his Korean service.

We know from the Nominal Rolls that McCunnie spent 140 days in service with the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, (3RAR).  He was in Korea from May 1951.  McCunnie was one of 20 Australian soldiers who were either Killed in Action or Died of Wounds over a few days during the battles of Kowang San and Maryang San where the Commonwealth troops were attempting to take a series of hills from the Chinese.  These battles resulted in the largest number of Australian casualties recorded since the start of the Korean war.


                 Photo of McCunnie's grave, United Nations Cemetery, Korea                    https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69979108/geoffrey-joseph-mccunnie

McCunnie’s body was buried at the military cemetery in Busan, Korea on 17 October 1951 in a canvas square. His internment report from the UN Memorial Cemetery in Korea provides more information about his physical appearance, (he had red hair) and the manner of his death, (he died of wounds after a missile attack).

McCunnie’s memory lives on in Terang where he was included on a family headstone on the grave where both his sister, who predeceased him, and his oldest brother, the Catholic priest, are buried.  He is also remembered on the Terang War Memorial as well as the WA State Memorial and the new Perth Korean War Memorial.  He was also remembered a year after his death by a girl in Burnie, who put a memorial notice in the local paper for her friend.

                                                   Photo of Headstone in Terang, Victoria cemetery remembering                                            Private McCunnie (and brother and sister).  Photo from Ancestry.com

References:

Advocate (Melbourne, Vic. : 1868 - 1954), Thursday 18 October 1951, page 2. Accessed via TROVE 28 Mar 2023

Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Thursday 11 October 1951, page 14. Accessed via TROVE 28 Mar 2023

Ancestry.com https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.au/mediaui-viewer/tree/56959777/person/291003807609/media/fba9b200-7c57-4663-8cc5-f87fbfec027f Photo of Geoffrey McCunnie’s headstone in Terang cemetery

Camperdown Chronicle (Vic.: 1875 - 1954), Friday 12 October 1951, page 1. Accessed via TROVE 28 Mar 2023

DVA Nominal Rolls Department of Veterans Affairs https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=1213020&c=KOREA.  Accessed 28 Mar 2023.

Report of Internment for McCUNNIE, Geoffrey. https://www.unmck.or.kr/eng/04_memory/?mcode=0504020000&mode=2&no=93&country=AUSTRALIA&l_name=McCunnie&f_name=Geoffrey&page=1   Accessed 28 Mar 2023.

VIRTUAL WAR MEMORIAL/Geoffrey McCunnie. https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/617410 Accessed 28 Mar 2023

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