West Australians Killed in the Korean War

  This blog post honours the memory of Private Raymond Petersen who was accidently killed in Korea on 6 June 1951. Petersen was a single man, who was 21 and half years old when he died.   There are not many documents or newspaper articles left about his short life and tragic death. But like the other West Australians who died in Korea, his life and the manner of his death is important to record. Born in May 1930, Petersen was 17 years old when he enlisted in the regular army at Swan Barracks in Perth in August 1947.   He worked as a labourer prior to his enlistment and had moved to Western Australia from NSW, leaving his father, (and family?) living in Auburn, N.S.W. [1] Petersen arrived in Korea in November 1950 as a reinforcement to the 3 rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR). [2]   By June of 1951 3RAR were north of the Imjin River, securing territory recently held by the Chinese. [3]   A team from A Company, 3RAR, setting up wire defences around its perimete