Just before the Second World War ended, Warrant Officer Class 2 Frederick Balfe Emanuel's life was cut short when his B-24 Liberator crashed during an operational flight over Borneo.
On Friday 15 August 2025, the Australian War Memorial will mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific (VP) Day by honouring the service and sacrifice of the young man from Coolamon, NSW, whose journey took him from a country town to covert missions behind enemy lines.
The Governor-General, Ms Sam Mostyn AC and the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Hon Matt Keogh MP, will welcome Second World War veterans, members of the Diplomatic Corps, guests, and visitors to the Last Post Ceremony, which marks the moment on 14 August 1945 when the Allies accepted Japan's unconditional surrender, and the war was finally over for Australia.
Australian War Memorial Director, Matt Anderson, said: "This is honouring a country boy who became a Sydneysider yet did not survive to finish his story."
Born on 19 August 1918 to Robert and Beryl Emanuel, Frederick grew up in Coolamon before the family moved to Wellington, NSW. After high school he moved to Sydney, worked in a bank, and married Mollie Hancock.
Two years later, aged 22, he enlisted in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force, serving with the 2nd/6th Armoured Regiment in Papua before joining the Far Eastern Liaison Office, a special operations unit conducting dangerous reconnaissance and propaganda missions in the South-West Pacific.
"On 2 July 1945, Frederick boarded the fatal flight over Balikpapan. It would be only a little more than a month before the war ended and Frederick's life was cut short in a B-24 crash over Borneo, "Mr Anderson said.
"His story is a heartbreaking reminder of how close some came to seeing peace yet never returned home.
"The Australian War Memorial was dedicated in 1941 by Lord Gowrie VC, who opened this memorial, archive and museum with the words "never again".
