The remains of two Australian servicemen missing in action in Indonesia since 1966, have been found and positively identified.
“Special Air Service (SAS) patrolmen Lieutenant Kenneth Hudson and Private Robert Moncrieff were part of an SAS patrol and were conducting border security operations during the Indonesia Confrontation between the Federation of Malaysia and Indonesia,” Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science said.
“Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff were separated from the rest of their patrol during a river crossing in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on 21 March 1966.
“When the two men failed to failed to rendezvous with their patrol as planned, the patrol returned to its base in Sarawak. Despite extensive searches to locate the patrolmen at the time, they were not found,” Mr Combet said.
In 2008, Army commenced an investigation to try and locate the human remains of the two men. The Army immediately asked for assistance from the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI). Agreement was received in 2009, along with the offer of direct assistance from officers of TNI to form a joint investigation and research team.
“I would like to recognise and praise the efforts of the official Australian Army investigation team, and express gratitude for the support of the TNI during the investigation,” Mr Combet said.
“Due to this great level of cooperation and assistance provided by the Indonesian Government and the TNI, the Army will be able to bring the remains of Kenneth Hudson and Robert Moncrieff home to their families.
“In particular I would like to acknowledge the assistance of the residents of Sanggau province, who offered the recovery team significant assistance. The team discovered that at the time of the disappearance it was local Indonesians who had found the bodies of the two men and recovered them and gave them respectful burials. It was the same Indonesians who helped the joint team locate the burial sites and recover the remains.
“I would also like to express my sincere thanks to many within the ex-serving and serving SAS community for their role in the recovery of the remains which were recovered from two burial sites, six kilometres apart.
“The perseverance and determined efforts of the ex-serving and serving SAS community have contributed to the final success to locate and recover the remains of the two missing soldiers.
“Planning is now well underway to repatriate the remains of Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff to Australia. The date for repatriation will be advised when known.
“Their families have awaited their return for 44 years. They will now be able to bring their loved ones home and lay them to rest with proper military honours,” Mr Combet said.
The official Army investigation report and findings have been presented to and accepted by the West Australian Coroner.
In 1965-66 the Australian Army was involved in border security operations during the Indonesia Confrontation between the Federation of Malaysia and Indonesia. This included cross border operations of Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) patrols, part of the Australian Forces stationed in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
Source: minister.defence.gov.au
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