On this Day…

It’s just another day. February 6th comes and goes just as any other day would. However, for me, it will always hold special significance. For it was on this day in 1952 that my father came close to meeting his end over the frozen Korean landscape as he scouted the earth in search of a downed pilot from his squadron.

In conducting the search he broke his own cardinal rule of not making a pass on the same location more than once. He felt compelled to do so as he thought he had seen the scarlet marker scarf of “Butch” Hannan laid out on the snow and as he wheeled his Gloster Meteor jet around at treetop height, the North Korean gunners found their mark.

Their hits shattered the canopy and the roar of frozen air was deafening. Goggles shattered and mask askew, he heaved back on the stick and made for the heavens above, away from the spitting tracers that sought to land a fatal blow.

I only learnt of that event much later in life as Dad was never one to share or reflect too heavily on the past. When it became apparent that the Americans had been impressed by the wounded pilot and awarded him the Purple Heart, I was more than a little curious. Ultimately, this would set the wheels in motion for decades of research that would uncover a political hot potato and eventually motivated me to write his story in the book, “Without Precedent”. All the while, Dad was blissfully unaware and went to his grave never knowing the final outcome.

It would be 2018 before his efforts on that day over Korea would be formally recognised after the then Chief of Defence, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin AC pursued the case surrounding the decoration. In a service at the Australian War Memorial, I was honoured to received a second United States Air Medal on Dad’s behalf as it was no longer possible for an Australian to receive the Purple Heart.

And so the calendar will tick over once again and that date will slide behind me until next year. Even so, the story of Dad’s combat and close call crosses my mind far more frequently than on the anniversary. For his part, Dad would still wonder what the fuss was all about.