Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

James Daniel McGovern was in born in Richmond South Australia on the 23rd of May 1923. James lived in a simple town house on 65 Shierlaw Street in the northern area of Richmond. He was born and raised in this part of town accompanied by his father Nicholas Joseph McGovern, a sheet metal worker, Mother Beatrice Mary Pattern, John Brian Mcgovern (Brother) and sister Irene Margaret. James grew up and lived in the same brick and stone town house that was simply outdated but a lovely family home. James was very close to one of his cousins named Charles. They were always together around the neighbourhood. Their life was mainly lived at the sheet metal factory where the boys of the family were to be seen working for most hours in the day. On the 21st of June 1928, James’ sister Irene Mcgovern had been born. James wasn’t sent to any school or enrolled in any secondary education as he was set to go to war or be a sheet metal worker with his father. Their mother Beatrice stayed home making food, clothes and just housekeeping. After designing clothing for a year, she was a provisional teacher at Tanunda and her mode of transport being a steam train (The Chronicle). Their father served in World War one as a craftsman and returned safely home from war. This sparked the will to serve in the children. They decided they were going to enrol in the army and were all sent to war between the years of 1942-1946. Irene was an aircraftwoman; John was the leading aircraftman and James was a Private.
 
James enlisted on 16th of October 1942 in the AIF, he reported to training at Wayville South Australia. Sergeant Beauchamp examined him in the early months of 1943; he was then accepted after training to be taken on strength. He served in the 2nd Military District during late 1942 early 1943. He marched out to the 2/5th Australian Infantry Battalion on the 3rd April 1943 and was hospitalised with Malaria in June. He disembarked Cairns and embarked Milne Bay in 1943 on the 21st of September.

 
Milne Bay had multiple significant battles against the Japanese army, and James was a part of this according to the National Archives of Australia. Shown on his service form he was taken on strength at the time that Australia had sent its second set of AIFS to the battlefield and unexpectedly rattled the Japanese forces. 

According to the National Archives of Australia, they took him on strength in Wewak, Papua New Guinea, on the Aitape on the 29th November 1944. When taken on strength in Milne Bay, James suddenly fell ill with malaria on the 23rd of November in 1945 and was evacuated and struck off from the Aitape in Papua New Guinea. When James fell ill, they evacuated him in 1945.

During his service at Papua New Guinea, he was involved in the later stages of WW2 in the Southwest of the Pacific. On the 23rd of September 1943, the Australian infantry battalion (2,5th) was involved in a battle against the Japanese in Salamaua.

 
This ultimately resulted in the loss of soldiers in the 2/5th Infantry Battalion and other Australian forces (94 killed and 165 wounded). James was involved in this battle, according to the Infantry Unit diaries from the Australian War Memorial (Australian War Memorial). After he returned from malaria he was preparing, helping, the other soldiers back at the Wewak Base. James unfortunately caught malaria again on the 25/5/1946. This was his last mention in his service forms according to the National Archives, and then James was finally discharged on the 29/7/1946. 
 
 
After the war James survived and lived until he was 78 and died in South Australia. His grave is in Centennial Park, Adelaide. After he returned from war, he became engaged to Dorothy Wilks on the 19th of June 1954, according to The Advertiser. Dorothy Wilks was in Broken Hill and James was in Richmond and they went on to have a daughter called Sharon who lived at Brighton Beach when she left home.

 A significant number of years after his service on the date 2/1/1975 he applied for a war medal. At this stage in life, he had moved to the city of Sturt on Duncan Street, South Australia. James went back to being a sheet metal worker and retired at 61.  James Daniel McGovern died on the 17th of April 2001 at the age of 78. His cause of death was old age.

 
Reference list

Ancestry.com. (2018). Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records. [online] Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.
Genge (2006). Wau-Salamaua 1942. [online] Anzac Portal. Available at:

https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/resources/wau-salamaua-1942 [Accessed 7 May 2023].

Naa.gov.au. (2019). Home page | naa.gov.au. [online] Available at: https://www.naa.gov.au.
vwma.org.au. (n.d.). Australian Soldiers, Memorials and Military History. [online] Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/projects/102620/edit?wizard-page-index=0 [Accessed 7 May 2023].

Wikipedia. (2022). 2/5th Battalion (Australia). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/5th_Battalion_(Australia) [Accessed 7 May 2023].

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). | The Australian War Memorial. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U56048.

Bibliography
Australian War Memorial. (n.d.). AWM 2/5th infantry battalion unit diaries. Canberra: Australian War Memorial.

Stanley, P. (2003). New Guinea Offensive . Amsterdam : AWM.

Wikipedia . (2023). Salamaua ww2 . America .
 
 

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). Aitape Sector, New Guinea. Australian troops advancing along the beach towards But, during the ... [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/018292 [Accessed 7 May 2023].

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). Aitape Sector, New Guinea. Australian troops advancing along the beach towards But, during the ... [online] Available at:

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/018292 [Accessed 7 May 2023].

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). AWM52 8/3/5 - 2/5 Infantry Battalion. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1360732 [Accessed 7 May 2023].