E. J. MORRISON

Throughout the annals of Australian military history, few would see war as intently as ‘Jack’ Morrison. Morrison was born in the small township of Korong Vale, located in North-west Victoria, on the 2nd of April 1922. His last name was originally Hamilton, taken from his father Frederick who was a railway firefighter in the town, however, following the death of his mother Evelyn in 1928, Morrison was adopted by his aunt and uncle and took on their family name. He was moved to Melbourne where in his teen years he worked as a brick layers assistant and took a keen interest in various sports, even having a single round run as a professional boxer in August of 1941.

In December 1941, following the outbreak of war with the Japanese in the Pacific, Morrison wanted to enlist. However, still only 19 he joined the CMF unit he could transfer to the AIF.  In July, the Japanese began their invasion of New Guinea and Australia rushed to assemble troops to defend its territories. Morrison transferred to the AIF on the 25th of July and was subsequently assigned to the 2/1st Machine Gun Battalion. He first went to Ingleburn, NSW for further training before completing further jungle warfare training in Queensland. It was nearly a year before he finally reached his unit, being taken on strength by the Battalion on the 6th of June 1943, assigned to A Company.

A Company at this time was fighting in the Salamaua-Lae Campaign as part of 3rd Division. He saw heavy action throughout the campaign, before it concluded in September and the company returned to Port Moresby to rejoin the rest of the companies. The battalion remained in defensive positions around Moresby until February 1944, when it returns to Queensland and merged into the 7th Division. The Battalion would have one last major campaign to finish of its war service. As the Japanese were steadily beaten back through late 1944 and into 1945, the decision was made to reoccupy the Netherlands East indies, and a land invasion of Ballikpapan was put together. On the 1st of July, Morrison with the rest of the 2/1st Machine Gun Battalion took part in the initial landings and assaulted the island. Although some action was seen during the landings, A Company was assigned to defend the battalion headquarters in the rear. As a result, Morrison saw little action throughout the remainder of the campaign. After twenty days of fighting, the battle concluded on the 21st of July.

A little over a month later, Japan surrendered. The men of the 2/1st machine Gun Battalion were slowly sent home and discharged. Morrison was sent back to Melbourne, and on the 7th of February 1946, was given his discharge papers. Now nearly 24 years old, Morrison decided what to do next with his life. He had married his sweetheart, Nellie Mary Becker, during a period of leave when the battalion had return from New Guinea in early 1944, and soon after his discharge his first child was born. Needing to support his family, he took up a position as a driver for a fruit vendor at the Queen Victoria Market. After a few years, Morrison grew tired of this line of work and opted to re-enlist into the army. At this time, the war in Korea had broken out and 3RAR under strength was calling for veterans to re-enlist as they did not require the months of military training a new recruit did.. He managed to reach 3RAR prior to their deployment to Korea and was present when they landed at Busan as a member of the machine gun platoon in D Company.

Morrison moved North with the Battalion following the success of the Incheon Landings and was part of the drive into North Korea. He saw continuous small-scale actions as they progressed. The Battalion had its first taste of major battle in Korea when it engaged North Korean forces near Yongju at a small apple orchid that would lend to the engagements nickname, Battle of the Apple Orchid. D Company saw little action during the fight as the majority of the attack was carried out by C Company. The next major battle was only a few days later when A and B Companies launched an assault on a destroyed bridge near Kujin, again giving the creative name Battle of the Broken Bridge. D Company did play a role this time as they moved to secure the town of Pakchon, facing light resistance. Finally, Morrison would receive his first real combat test of the war on the 29th of October at a village called Chongju.

During the Battle, 3RAR came across a North Korean defensive line supported by T-34 battle tanks. D Company was ordered to secure a nearby ridgeline that overlooked the valley, and having done so, the machine gun platoon established their weapons atop. Come nightfall, the North Koreans launched a major counterattack that threatened D Companies positions. At one point, some of the machine gun platoons Vickers guns where left unattended and not firing. Morrison stepped up to the task and calmly approaching the guns “as though he were walking on a parade ground” [The Herald] he mounted the Vickers and began to fire upon the enemy, providing desperately needed support for a stretcher team evacuating wounded. It was several minutes before a second gunner joined him and the situation stabilised.

Shortly after the Battle of Chongju, the Chinese entry into the war and their offensive Southward drove the UN forces back across the border and the city of Seoul fell for the third time during the war, though was recaptured in March. However, Morrison, now a Temporary Corporal, finished his time with 3RAR and on the 22nd of January 1951, left Korea for Australia.

The leave was temporary however, and he returned to the Battalion for a second tour of duty mid-July. By this time, 3RAR had fought its largest battle of the war, the Battle of Kapyong, and had over seen a major reorganization as the majority of the first-year veterans rotated home and were replaced by new recruits who had joined the war on 2 year K-Force contracts. This made Morrisons experience invaluable, and he was promoted to the rank of Temporary Sergeant. Part of the Battalions reorganization was that it no longer had machine gun platoons withing the company structure, but rather a section at the battalion level. Morrison was assigned to this section and quickly put his leadership abilities to good use.

Towards the end of September 1951, UN forces launched operation Midden across the Imjin River and established a foot hold which was supported by the machine gun platoon. This was in preparation to the larger Operation Commando, also known as the Battle of Maryang San. Maryang San was designed to advance the UN lines to a more defensible position, and to dislodge the communist forces from high ground along Hill 355 (Little Gibraltar) and 317 (Maryang San). The 1st Commonwealth Division led the assault with 3RAR’s 28th Brigade as the spearhead. The two British units within the brigade failed to achieve their objectives repeatedly throughout the battle, though 3RAR not only carried their own objectives but also assisted in securing those of the other battalions. Once Hill 317 had been secured, the machined gun platoon moved onto it and occupied a position known as The Hinge, where they provided covering fire for other battalions in the brigade still assaulting their objectives. On the final night of the battle, The Hinge weathered a major counterattack by Chinese forces. The machine gun platoon was instrumental in repelling the attack. Morrison for his part aggressively led his men and rallied them when they were close to breaking. For his part in the battle, he was Mentioned in Dispatches. 

Following the Battle of Maryang San, 3RAR consolidated their positions along the new line of defense, prepared to meet Chinese counter attacks and wait for the Winter. The counter attacks never materialized but the Winter came with full force. Morrison stayed with the Battalion until January 1952, when he left Korea for the second time. It would not be his last however, and he returned to the Battalion for a third tour from September 1952. By this stage, the war had turned into a stalemate with both sides largely waging the conflict through patrols. Morrison quickly became proficient at this and led his men from the front as a sergeant in A Company.

In December of 1952, 3RAR took up new defensive positions upon Hill 355, taking over from 1RAR. The winter was brutal, and the Battalion did their best to make do with the freezing conditions. Regardless, the war went on, and command wanted to obtain some enemy prisoners in order to evaluate the Chinese situation. This mission was passed down to 3RAR who then gave the job to Morrisons platoon. The patrol was planned to take place on the 24th of January and would consist of a 5 man snatch part led by Morrison with two support aptrols each consisting of 13 men. The patrol reached the point of assault and Morrison led his snatch party 600 metres further. At this point he had his me wait on the lip of the trench when he jumped in to scout the situation. Almost immediately, Morrison was confronted with two Chinese soldiers. Startled, they reached for their weapons, but Morrison fired first, killing both. Having lost the element of surprise and taking enemy fire, Morrison fled the trench and led his party back 30 metres before calling down pre-arranged artillery fire onto the enemy trenches. At this time, one of the two waiting patrols under the command of Lieutenant Francis Charles Smith, came under attack by a larger Chinese patrol. Noticing the firefight, Morrison returned to the other waiting patrol and assuming command led it towards Smiths besieged men. They assessed the situation and determined that Smiths 13-man group was under attack on three sides by a force estimated to be at company size. Morrison continued to direct artillery fire onto the attackers. As they came within two hundred meters of Smiths position, Morrison spotted a group of about 20 Chinese troops moving along there flank. Assuming they had not spotted him, or that they were mistaken as Chinese themselves, Morrison directed his men to take up firing positions and ambushed the enemy patrol. When they opened fire, the lead Chinese were within two meters of the Australian ambush, all enemy were killed without having fired a shot.

At the same time, Smiths men were completely overwhelmed, and a withdrawal was ordered. Organizing his men’s escape, Smith was struck by a concussion grenade and fell into the darkness, his body never being seen again. With Smiths group completely over run, the Chinese turned their attention towards Morrisons patrol. Seeing the enemy’s intentions, he moved his men up a ridge to the east to take up better defensive positions. As they crested the ridge, they found it occupied by six Chinese soldiers. Morrison along with Corporal Francis Leo Mackay, who had commanded the patrol prior to Morrisons taking over of command, threw themselves at the enemy and dislodged them. The patrol continued to move east whilst being attacked on either flank or their rear by superior enemy numbers, however, continuous attacks against the Australians were continuously repelled with Morrison leading to counter attacks against the groups on his flank personally. At this point, Private Lionel John Terry, who had been part of Morrisons original snatch party and was by now badly wounded, single handedly led a charge alone against the enemy party to his rear, throwing grenades and firing his Owen Gun. Terry was never seen again, but his charge stopped the Chinese in their tracks and the communist assault on the patrol dissipated afterwards. Terry was later considered for a Victoria Cross but was downgraded to a simple Mention in Dispatches due to a lack of evidence. Following this the party made its way back to friendly lines. Out of the toral 31 Australians involved, 13 were missing and a further 10 were seriously wounded with no successful outcome. For his aggressive command and gallantry during the action, Morrison was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Shortly after this action, 3RAR moved to the rear for a period of rest and relaxation. For two months the exhausted battalion licked its wounds and re-equipped. It wasn’t until April 1953 that they moved back into the front. At this point, A Company had a new Lieutenant who had arrived at the start of the rest period, Lieutenant Ray Burnard. Burnard led 2 patrols early in his first stay on the front line, but it was his third on the 16th of May proved to be his last of the war. Ray, accompanied by two others, was sent to scout the minefields ahead of UN lines and ensure that the perimeters hadn’t been tampered with by the enemy. As the night turned to early morning, it became clear that the party had wandered into one of said minefields. Using their maps, and praying they were indeed accurate, the three men slowly made their way out of the danger. However, as they emerged and prepared to head to friendly lines, the sun began to rise. An Australian sentry armed with a Bren light machine gun spotted their silhouettes and opened fire with a short burst. The other two soldiers dropped to safety, but a bullet struck the large zipper of Burnard’s flak vest and deflected up through his neck, luckily missing any vital arteries. The enemy was now alerted and bullets poured down on the men trapped in no man’s land. Morrison was alerted to the situation, and gathering a stretcher party leapt into the thick of it and ran towards Bernard under a white flag, which after initial burst of fire, the Chinese honoured. He helped the stretchers load up Burnard and returned him to friendly lines. Burnard was evacuated to Japan to recover and would later return to 3RAR post ceasefire. He would go on to command Morrison again in Vietnam as commander of the Australian Army Training Team.

“I remember Jack telling me later that he realized there were probably 2000 eyes from the Chinese side watching him and his half a dozen men coming down with the white flag. I deeply appreciated the respect the Chinese military gave to the stretcher party.” Ray Burnard, 2023 ANZAC Memorial Hyde Park

Following this action, the remaining months of the war for 3RAR were relatively quiet. Men continued to die, but there were no major actions, at least not involving Morrison. He no doubt went on fighting patrols and had more chances to engage the enemy.

On the 27th of July 1953, the armistice agreement went into effect, essentially ending the war. Morrison only endured the monotony of garrison life more less than a month, as he returned home to his family in late August. He remained in the army and took up a posting as an instructor. He subsequently obtained a transfer to the Pacific Island regiment in New Guinea where he served as one of their senior instructors. Eventually he returned to Australia, potentially due to disputes with his commanding officer, and resumed his duties as an instructor. In March of 1963, Morrison received his promotion to Warrant Officer, and the following year was one of the first selected to be part of the AATTV.

In late September 1964, Morrison was sent to Vietnam as part of the army’s increase in advisors. He was posted to local units and assisted them in training and, unofficially, fighting the North Vietnamese forces. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment South Vietnamese army and operated from their headquarters atop a hill near DaNang, Hill 159. This would be the site of Morrisons defining battle in Vietnam. In the early morning hours f the 8th of December 1964, under the cover of darkness, North Vietnamese troops scaled the slopes of Hill 159. They launched and all-out attack and caught the defenders by surprise. Morrison and the American Lieutenant commanding the advisors were struck by grenade fragments and wounded, but both regained their composure and started to rally their men. After receiving aid from a nearby American Sergeant, Morrison began organising the Vietnamese troops he could and leading them in a controlled withdrawal down the reverse slope of the hill.  For his quick thinking and organisation of the hills defence, Morrison was awarded a Bar to his DCM. The hill was recaptured shortly after by another Vietnamese battalion which was led by two fellow Australian Advisors, Warrant Officer’s James Husband and Wallace Thompson. Thompson would later express some resentment at Morrison being awarded the DCM while other advisors went unrecognized.