Australia’s last surviving Kokoda campaign veteran, Reginald James Chard OAM, has died aged 102.
“We extend our deepest condolences to Reg’s family, friends and all the lives he touched throughout his incredible life,” the RSL said in a statement on Friday afternoon.
“Rest easy, Reg. Your courage lives on in every step along that track.”
Enlisting in the Australian Army in 1942 when he was 18 years old, Mr Chard saw service in Papua New Guinea, where he survived repeated bouts of malaria.
Prior to joining the military he was an apprentice baker in Sydney then underwent months of infantry training.
He was then deployed to the Pacific island where he helped build an airstrip at Milne Bay, before joining the fighting along the Kokoda Track.
Mr Chard recounted watching two of his closest friends from Sydney killed by Japanese snipers within moments of each other during the fighting.
The Kokoda campaign was fought between Australia and Japanese forces in Papua between July and November 1942, during a pivotal stage of the Second World War.
It is regarded as one of the war’s defining battles for Australia, which saw about 625 Aussie soldiers killed, more than 1,600 wounded and thousands more struck down with disease.
Mr Chard returned to Sydney in 1943, having lost almost 30kg over the course of the campaign.
He was the last surviving member of the Kokoda campaign.
In October 1945 he married his wife Betty, but was unable to return to his baking career due to the ongoing effects of tropical disease.
He went on to spend 38 years driving trucks, having also worked in an iron foundry.
Among those to pay tribute was education minister Jason Clare, who described the war hero as a “dear friend”.
“Reg fought for our country, serving in the 55th/53rd Battalion on the Kokoda Trail,” he wrote.
“After losing the love of his life, Betty, Reg volunteered as a guide for school groups at the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway in Concord, helping keep the legacy of his generation’s service and sacrifice alive.
“Rest in peace, my friend.”