Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

"Bernard (Bernie) Graham enlisted in the Australian Army during World War 2, aged 23 and was posted to the the Queensland-based 2/9th Battalion - part of the 18th Brigade. He saw infantry service against the Germans and Japanese during his four years in the service- specifically in the harsh conditions of the Middle East, New Guinea and Borneo....

His proudest memories concerned Torbruk - a strategic port city the Germans wanted at all cost. His battalion not only defended grimly against superior numbers, but at one point launched a counter-attack around 'the Salient' to recapture some outposts previously lost to the Germans. After being subjected to a heavy German artillery bombardment at their form up point, and under the cover of considerable counter-battery fire from the British artillery, the battalion captured a number of positions, inflicting heavy losses upon the enemy.

In July 1941, they returned to the Salient, in the El Adem sector where they undertook aggressive patrols into no mans' land, penetrating a number of minefields and moving booby traps. They were known as the 'rats of Torbruk' for their gallant defence of the city - named as such by Field Marshall Rommel whose advance was severely hampered, and contributed to the eventual German defeat. To the day they died, the men of this battalion wore that title of 'rats' as badges of honour.

Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the 2/9th returned to Australia preparing for jungle warfare in New Guinea where the Japanese were advancing south towards Australia. In August 1942, his battalion arrived in Milne Bay- the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. 

In May of that year, the battalion was brought back to Australia where they undertook a period of over a year training for the final Australian amphibious operation of the war — the landing at Balikipapan and taking part in various actions (including Buna) until the atomic bombs forced the Japanese surrender.

In one of those actions, a Japanese flag was captured at Milne Bay by his battalion. Bernie Graham was wounded twice - both times in the face, and both times by friendly fire!

After the war, Bernie Graham married, and raised a family of five in Richlands, Brisbane. He lived quietly and worked as a maintenance engineer for the local primary school- Richlands State School.

When he died, aged 90, he was one of just a few remaining 'rats of Torbruk'." - SOURCE (www.facebook.com)