John Bernard Mackey, VC (16 May 1922 – 12 May 1945) was an Australian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

forces. Mackey was one of twenty Australians to receive the award for actions during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, receiving his award posthumously for leading an attack on against a strongly defended Japanese position during the Battle of Tarakan in May 1945. He was 22 and serving as a corporal in the 2/3rd Pioneer Battalion at the time of his death.

Early life

Born in

Leichhardt, New South Wales Leichhardt () is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Leichhardt is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and is the administrative centre for the local government ...

, Mackey was the only son and the eldest of four children of Stanislaus Mackey, a baker, and his wife Bridget Catherine Smyth Mackey. After attending St. Columba's School in Leichhardt and the Christian Brothers' High School in

Lewisham, New South Wales Lewisham is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lewisham is located 7 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Inner West Council. History Le ...

, the Mackey family moved to Portland, New South Wales, in 1936, where his father operated a bakery. Mackey finished his schooling at the age of 14 and began working for his father as a baker. However, he did not enjoy the work and his relationship with his father deteriorated.

Second World War

On 5 June 1940, Mackey enlisted in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...

, falsifying his age to do so. After training, he was posted to the 2/3rd Pioneer Battalion and left with the unit in November 1941 for service in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. He participated in the Syrian Campaign against the Vichy French and in the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

. The Japanese threat to Australia grew as they advanced through the Pacific in 1942. In response, the Australian government requested the withdrawal of Australian units back to their home country, and Mackey's battalion returned in February 1943. It served in Papua New Guinea from August 1943 to March 1944, during which time Mackey was promoted to the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

. While in Papua, he suffered several bouts of malaria. After a period of rest and reorganisation in Australia, the battalion returned to the Southwest Pacific theatre of operations in April 1945 when they were committed to the Borneo Campaign. On 1 May 1945, Mackey's battalion, as part of 26th Brigade Group, landed at Lingkas Beach on Tarakan Island, off North

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. The island's airfield was to be captured to allow its use in operations against Borneo. Advancing inland along the Aman River, the battalion were held up by Japanese defending a stronghold known as Helen. On 12 May 1945, Mackey's company was to continue an attack that had begun three days previously and it was during this action that he earned the Victoria Cross (VC). The citation for his VC read: The Japanese continued to hold off the attacking pioneers for a further two days before Helen was bombed with napalm, forcing them to abandon the position. Originally buried where he was killed, after the war Mackey was interred at Labuan War Cemetery. Mackey's VC was presented to his sister, Patricia, and was later donated to the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

, where it is now on display in the Hall of Valour.

Notes

References

External links

John Mackey at the Australian War Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackey, John Bernard 1922 births 1945 deaths Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel killed in World War II Australian World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Australian people of Irish descent Military personnel from Sydney Australian Army personnel of World War II Burials at Labuan War Cemetery Australian bakers People educated at Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham