Australian veteran receives medals 80 years after World War II service

The Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs awarded Ian Hart five medals for his service in the Pacific during World War II.

Ian Hart, a 100-year-old man from Queensland, served in the Australian Army in 1944 at the age of 18. He was part of the 11th Australian Small Ships Company, a unit that transported troops through the Pacific.

During his service, Hart traveled to Borneo and Papua New Guinea on the TSMV Blackwood, a ship that eventually ran aground on a reef. Hart believes that because he was rescued by an American cargo ship, his official service records were never updated to reflect his time spent overseas. Hart discovered the record error 20 years ago when he was refused a veterans' card because the government did not recognize his overseas service.

Although he eventually received a veterans' gold card, he did not receive official medals. He spent decades wearing replica medals during commemorative services. Hart only told his family about the missing medals last month, leading his daughter to contact his local RSL branch to resolve the issue. Members of the RSL branch verified his service and submitted a request to the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The government processed the request and sent the five medals within 10 days.

Hart received the medals at Parliament House, replacing the replicas he had worn for 80 years. The official medals recognize his 245 days of active overseas service and 622 days of active service in Australia.