Jack Wong Sue
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Jack Wong Sue, DCM, JP also known as Jack Sue, born 12 September 1925 is a prominent Chinese Australian mariner and soldier, a veteran of World War II and an author. Wong Sue was born and grew up in Perth, Western Australia (WA).
Following the outbreak of the Pacific War, and even though he was only 16, Wong Sue was given a white feather, a symbol of perceived cowardice sometimes presented to men of military age in wartime. In spite of his age, Wong Sue was able to join the Norwegian Merchant Navy by claiming to be 18 and forging his parents' signatures.
After completing many hazardous wartime voyages on merchant ships, Wong Sue attempted to join the Royal Australian Navy, which rejected him under a racially discriminatory policy, because of his Chinese descent. He instead joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and became a crew member on RAAF crash rescue boats.
Because of his Asian appearance and fluency in the Malay and Chinese languages, Wong Sue was asked to join the Allied intelligence/commando unit, Z Force, and he received jungle warfare training at Fraser Island, Queensland and advanced jungle training at Cairns, Queensland.
Wong Sue was among members of Z Force landed in Borneo in groups of between five and 25 men to undertake surveillance, sabotage and attacks against Japanese forces, as well as the training of Bornean resistance forces. The commandos claimed 1,700 Japanese killed for the loss of 112 commandos.[1] They also claimed to have trained about 6,000 Bornean guerillas. Wong Sue also witnessed the mistreatment of Allied prisoners of war at the infamous Sandakan camp, in North Borneo and the failure of Allied military leaders to rescue them, before all but six of the POWs died, as a result of the Sandakan Death Marches.
He ended the war with the rank of sergeant and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). Wong Sue returned to Perth and opened a retail store devoted to diving equipment in Midland, the first such store in WA. Although he remained a civilian, Wong Sue later instructed and advised members of the Australian Army's SAS Regiment in jungle tactics.
His published works include two books published circa 2001: a memoir of his military service, Blood on Borneo (ISBN 0-646-41656-1) and; a collection of anecdotes regarding a 1963 shipwreck, Ghost of the Alkimos (ISBN 0-646-42801-2).
