Starcevich VC Memorial, Beaufort, Sabah

Starcevich VC Memorial

Beaufort, Sabah

In June 1945, Australian forces landed in Sabah and proceeded to attack Japanese troops in Beaufort town, a strategic base for liberation campaign. On 27 June, Australian 2/32nd and 2/43rd Battalion began their assault and faced strong resistance from Japanese on a forested slope.

Seeing his comrades pinned down by heavy machine gun fire, Tom Starcevich charged forward and eliminated four enemy posts almost single-handedly. For his bravery, Starcevich was awarded the Victoria Cross medal (the highest honour in Australian military). The citizens of Beaufort erected a monument at the battle site as a gratitude to the Australian warriors.

During World War II, Sabah was invaded and occupied by Japanese. In June of 1945, Australian forces launched the campaign to liberate Borneo. The Australian 2/32nd and 2/43rd Battalion began their attack on 27 June against the 386th Japanese Independent Infantry Battalion under Major Kimura Jiro. Beaufort was a strategic town because its railway situated between Kota Kinabalu (then Jesselton) in the north and Tenom in interior. Losing Beaufort would be a big blow to the enemy because that will cut off the supply and aid from outside. The Japanese knew this too, so they defended Beaufort stubbornly. After days of heavy fighting, the Japanese retreated to the forested slope behind the town and setup a few machine gun posts in high ground.

In a hail of bullets, Tom Starcevich risked his life and fought uphill to wipe out four machine gun posts and 12 enemies almost single-handed. Because of his bravery, he was awarded Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry “in the face of the enemy” that can be awarded to members of British and Commonwealth armed forces, equivalent to Medal of Honor for United States I think. The battle between Australian and Japanese forces in Beaufort, from 26 to 29 June 1945, is one of the most intense but important fight in Sabah. 2/43rd Battalion, where Starcevich belongs, lost 13 men killed and 30 wounded. The numbers could be more if Starcevich wasn’t there.