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.

Citation

 ‘No. WX.11519 Private Leslie Thomas Starcevich, 2nd/43rd Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian Military Forces. For most conspicuous gallantry and extreme devotion to duty at Beaufort, North Borneo, 28th June, 1945. WX.11519 Private L. Starcevich was a member of the 2nd/43rd Australian Infantry Battalion during the capture of Beaufort, North Borneo. During the approach along a thickly wooded spur, the enemy was encountered at a position where movement off the single track leading into the enemy defences was difficult and hazardous. When the leading section came under fire from two enemy machine gun posts and suffered casualties, Private Starcevich, who was Bren gunner, moved forward and assaulted each post in turn. He rushed each post, firing his Bren gun from the hip, killed five enemy and put the remaining occupants of the posts to flight. The advance progressed until the section came under fire from two more machine gun posts which halted the section temporarily. Private Starcevich again advanced fearlessly firing his Bren Gun from the hip and ignoring the hostile fire captured both posts single-handed, disposing of seven enemy in this assault. These daring efforts enabled the Company to increase the momentum of its attack and so relieve pressure on another Company which was attacking from another direction. The outstanding gallantry of Private Starcevich in carrying out these attacks single-handed with complete disregard of his own personal safety resulted in the decisive success of the action.’

Supplement to The London Gazette of 6 November 1945. 8 November 1945, Numb. 37340, pp. 5431-32