- 23 Aug 2003 12:06
#23425
AUSTRALIA'S oldest World War I veteran Frank MacDonald, who died in Tasmania today aged 107, described himself as "the last of the Mohicans".
Frank MacDonald, as so many of his mates will remember him.
"I'm too pig-headed to die," Mr MacDonald, a corporal in the all-Tasmanian 40th Battalion who was awarded a Military Medal and Legion of Honour for his bravery, said several years ago.
"I should have been killed a dozen times, but I wasn't. I had 10 times as much luck as any man is entitled to."
Mr MacDonald died of pneumonia just before 5am (AEST) today, after being admitted to the Northwest Regional hospital in Burnie a fortnight ago when he fell and broke his hip.
Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon said a state funeral would be held late next week. "This is the end of a significant era in Tasmania as Frank was the last World War I veteran," Mr Bacon said.
"Sadly his death severs a significant link to the past".
Like all Australians who fought for their country, Frank made a significant contribution to the fabric of Australian society."
Despite taking part in some of the fiercest battles in France and Belgium - most notably the attack at Morlancourt in March 1918 - Mr MacDonald was never wounded, which was remarkable for an infantryman.
Barry Wood, a former history and English teacher from Mr MacDonald's hometown of Ulverstone in Tasmania's north-west, quit teaching last year to write Mr MacDonald's biography.
He said the corporal was a disciplined, brave soldier who believed fate had marked him out to survive.
"There was a very moving incident for him, where he had just stepped out of the Battalion Headquarters when he noticed two lieutenants talking to each other," Mr Wood said.
"He was walking towards them when a German shell exploded and the lieutenant directly in front of him took the full brunt of the force and fell back dead into his arms.
"From that moment he knew he would survive the war."
Mr MacDonald was employed to repair signalling lines between the Battalion Headquarters and the trenches when they were destroyed by German shells.
In 1918 he was awarded the Military Medal for his key role in maintaining vital lines of communication while under continuous heavy fire in Belgium in 1917.
Mr MacDonald told Mr Wood this was "rubbish".
"He was a crack shot . . . he thought he earned the medal for shooting down three German machine gun posts," Mr Wood said.
"He said he hated Germans and just wanted to shoot down as many as he could."
Mr MacDonald was recommended for a bar to his Military Medal for rescuing a mate under fire at Clery-sur-Somme in 1918, but this was never conferred.
In 1998 the French Ambassador flew to present him with France's highest military honour, the Legion of Honour.
However the war took its toll on Mr MacDonald, who was gassed three times, suffered bouts of fever and had his hearing impaired.
"He couldn't stand the silence, it was deafening to him after the sound of the shells in the trenches for years," Mr Wood said.
"He had insomnia and nerves as a direct side effect of the war."
Tasmanian RSL President Ian Kennett said Mr MacDonald's death meant the loss of another icon, with only six known WWI veterans still alive.
"He was very humble, he couldn't understand all the fuss over himself being 107 and putting him up on a pedestal, but I believe that is where all World War I veterans should be," Mr Kennett said.
Mr MacDonald was born and died in Tasmania, though he lived in Sydney for 40 years, in Brisbane for 11 and Melbourne for 10.
After the war he worked as a clerk, paymaster, real estate agent and salesman. He served again in World War II in army administration in Sydney.
Mr MacDonald married late in life and had no children.
When his wife Lilian died in 1978 he moved back to Ulverstone to live with his great niece Phyllis Gleeson, before moving into an aged home last November.
"He was a really wonderful man, very kind and caring," Ms Gleeson said.
"He had a really sharp mind."
She said Mr MacDonald, who was never one for the pomp and ceremony of Anzac Day, would in all likelihood not have wanted a state funeral.
"He wouldn't have wanted all that fuss but I'm sure he deserves it," she said.
News.com.au
Frank MacDonald, as so many of his mates will remember him.
"I'm too pig-headed to die," Mr MacDonald, a corporal in the all-Tasmanian 40th Battalion who was awarded a Military Medal and Legion of Honour for his bravery, said several years ago.
"I should have been killed a dozen times, but I wasn't. I had 10 times as much luck as any man is entitled to."
Mr MacDonald died of pneumonia just before 5am (AEST) today, after being admitted to the Northwest Regional hospital in Burnie a fortnight ago when he fell and broke his hip.
Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon said a state funeral would be held late next week. "This is the end of a significant era in Tasmania as Frank was the last World War I veteran," Mr Bacon said.
"Sadly his death severs a significant link to the past".
Like all Australians who fought for their country, Frank made a significant contribution to the fabric of Australian society."
Despite taking part in some of the fiercest battles in France and Belgium - most notably the attack at Morlancourt in March 1918 - Mr MacDonald was never wounded, which was remarkable for an infantryman.
Barry Wood, a former history and English teacher from Mr MacDonald's hometown of Ulverstone in Tasmania's north-west, quit teaching last year to write Mr MacDonald's biography.
He said the corporal was a disciplined, brave soldier who believed fate had marked him out to survive.
"There was a very moving incident for him, where he had just stepped out of the Battalion Headquarters when he noticed two lieutenants talking to each other," Mr Wood said.
"He was walking towards them when a German shell exploded and the lieutenant directly in front of him took the full brunt of the force and fell back dead into his arms.
"From that moment he knew he would survive the war."
Mr MacDonald was employed to repair signalling lines between the Battalion Headquarters and the trenches when they were destroyed by German shells.
In 1918 he was awarded the Military Medal for his key role in maintaining vital lines of communication while under continuous heavy fire in Belgium in 1917.
Mr MacDonald told Mr Wood this was "rubbish".
"He was a crack shot . . . he thought he earned the medal for shooting down three German machine gun posts," Mr Wood said.
"He said he hated Germans and just wanted to shoot down as many as he could."
Mr MacDonald was recommended for a bar to his Military Medal for rescuing a mate under fire at Clery-sur-Somme in 1918, but this was never conferred.
In 1998 the French Ambassador flew to present him with France's highest military honour, the Legion of Honour.
However the war took its toll on Mr MacDonald, who was gassed three times, suffered bouts of fever and had his hearing impaired.
"He couldn't stand the silence, it was deafening to him after the sound of the shells in the trenches for years," Mr Wood said.
"He had insomnia and nerves as a direct side effect of the war."
Tasmanian RSL President Ian Kennett said Mr MacDonald's death meant the loss of another icon, with only six known WWI veterans still alive.
"He was very humble, he couldn't understand all the fuss over himself being 107 and putting him up on a pedestal, but I believe that is where all World War I veterans should be," Mr Kennett said.
Mr MacDonald was born and died in Tasmania, though he lived in Sydney for 40 years, in Brisbane for 11 and Melbourne for 10.
After the war he worked as a clerk, paymaster, real estate agent and salesman. He served again in World War II in army administration in Sydney.
Mr MacDonald married late in life and had no children.
When his wife Lilian died in 1978 he moved back to Ulverstone to live with his great niece Phyllis Gleeson, before moving into an aged home last November.
"He was a really wonderful man, very kind and caring," Ms Gleeson said.
"He had a really sharp mind."
She said Mr MacDonald, who was never one for the pomp and ceremony of Anzac Day, would in all likelihood not have wanted a state funeral.
"He wouldn't have wanted all that fuss but I'm sure he deserves it," she said.
News.com.au
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