Jack Wong Sue passed

Decorated Australian war hero Jack Wong Sue has died in a Perth hospice, aged 84.

Jack Sue was a member of the Z-Force unit, the predecessor to the SAS, during World War II.

He served behind enemy lines in Borneo for six months when he was a 19-year-old.

In the several books he wrote about his war experiences, Mr Sue claimed Z-Force commandos in Borneo killed 1,700 Japanese soldiers and trained 6,000 guerillas.

He also witnessed the horrors of the Sandakan prisoner of war camp. Only six of 2,000 Australians returned from the camp alive.

Mr Sue was awarded the Army's Distinguished Conduct Medal, the United States Submarine Combat Insignia and rose to the rank of sergeant.

Mr Sue's son, Barry, says his father was special but rarely spoke about his experiences.

"He lived the life of 10 men. He was just a great dad. He was my best friend," he said.

"I've actually heard more from other people about what he did than what dad told me.

"They don't talk much, those guys. That's what makes them so special."

Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett has paid tribute to Mr Sue, saying he was a great Australian and a true hero.

"They were a small group of elite people that took extraordinary risks, showed great courage and achieved so much for the defence of Australia," he said.





More info: http://www.jackwongsue.com/about_jack_sue.htm



Jack Sue was part of the recce element for Operation KINGFISHER, an audacious plan to rescue Australian, British and US POWs held by the Japanese on Sandakan Island off the coast of British North Borneo.

Jack spent weeks in the field feeding intelligence back to Allied Intelligence GHQ about the conditions in the POW camp in support of a massive Allied paratroop personnel recovery operation which never happened... The Op was postponed and then canceled. Meanwhile, the Japanese massacred the POWs, only six men out of thousands making it out alive. One of the greatest tragedies of the Pacific War.

Jack's full story can be read in his outstanding book "Blood on Borneo".

Rest In Peace Old Mate.