Australian Victoria Cross Recipient
Corporal John Alexander French
Unit
2/9th Battalion
Born
15 July 1914 at Crows Nest, near Toowoomba, Queensland
Date of action
4 September 1942
Place
Milne Bay, Papua (now Papua New Guinea)
Details
During an advance French’s company crossed a creek to attack the Japanese positions at Goroni but ran into terrific machine-gun and rifle fire. French’s own section was held up by three machine-gun posts. After ordering his section to take cover he advanced and silenced the first post with grenades. He then returned for more grenades, advanced again, and silenced the second post. Armed with a Thompson sub-machine gun, he then attacked the third post, firing from the hip as he went forward. When his section pushed forward, however, they found that all members of the three enemy gun crews had been killed. By the time the Australian attack was over between sixty and seventy enemy had been killed; a few days later all Japanese resistance had collapsed. During the attack French was badly hit and died in front of the gun pit.
Died
4 September 1942
Buried or Commemorated
Port Moresby War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea. The French Memorial Library is at Crows Nest.
Current location of the VC
Privately held