Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Raymond John Sunley Doolin and Alice Emily Doolin, of North Star, New South Wales.

HE FOUGHT AND DIED FOR IDEALS AND OUR WAY OF LIFE

As already reported Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Doolin, of Myall Downs, North Star, have been notified that their son, Frank, has been killed in action in New  Guinea. Deceased had been a member of Texas 11th Light Horse Regiment. He joined the A.I.F. and left Australia in December, 1940, and served in the  Middle East, Cyprus and Syria. He returned to Australia in April, 1942. After training further in several camps in New South Wales and Queensland, he  sailed for New Guinea, where he was killed on December 19. He is survived by his father, mother and four brothers, Messrs. Jack and Victor, V.D.C., and Harold and Richard Doolin, A.I.F.

MEMORIAL SERVICE
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Cpl. Frank Doolin
When the news was received at Yetman that Cpl. Frank Doolin had been killed in action in New Guinea, it was thought fitting that the Yetman Platoon of the V.D.C. should arrange a suitable memorial service. This was done and the following report is furnished by Mr. T. O. Fitzgerald, Platoon Commander  of the Yetman V.D.C.
The service was held on February 14 when there were over 80 persons present and so completely filled the church that many could not gain admittance. After the singing of the National Anthem, the Rev. S. M. Bramsen explained the purpose of the service—"to pay a last tribute of affection to one whom we wish to honour; to express our sympathy with a home and family in sorrow; and to declare and strengthen our faith in Him who is the  Resurrection and the Life."
The congregation joined in the 23rd Psalm—"The Lord is my shepherd; therefore can I lack nothing."; then followed a lesson from the Book of Revelations, emphasing the love and care of God. Well-known hymns were sung, appropriate to the occasion, and special prayers were offered, commending the departed to God's keeping, prayers for all who serve the Nation, for the sick and wounded, for our leaders, and a prayer that a just and lasting peace may come upon the earth.
FORCEFUL ADDRESS
In his address Rev. S. M. Bramsen said that although he had not met the late Cpl. Frank Doolin, he had not failed to learn something of the quality of  is life. Frank Doolin was part of the A.I.F.; the A.I.F. had a soul; there were notes of beauty, strength and splendour in it, and those who comprised it,  such as he who had given his life, hoped the soul of the A.I.F. was going to live on, that its vigour and its brotherhood were going to enter into the soul  of the Australian people, chasing away everything unworthy. The lesson for us now is to see to it that we do not let those gallant men go out in vain,  said the preacher. We need to capture again the spirit of the old battalion—their idealism, their unity and their loyalty. We have all the possibilities of  becoming a great people if we can catch that spirit, and a vision of the rule of God in life, with the relationships which would develop if that rule were carried out. Many brave men today are suffering for what is right; they are fighting, not only against flesh and blood, but against false faiths and false  ideas, against hate and lies and misunderstanding, and we must back them up by living up to those principles which will make us worthy of those  things Frank Doolin and his pals of the A.I.F. have exhibited, such heroism and self-sacrifice to give to us. After an appropriate hymn and prayer, the  congregation stood in silence, and the service was concluded with the blessing. The Doolin family are prominent in Australian military affairs. Of the four sons remaining, two are serving abroad and two are training with the V.D.C. Yetman, while the father is also a member of that body.