The Australian War Memorial in Canberra will be commemorating the service and sacrifice of Taralga resident Gunner Edward Michael John O’Neill at the Last Post Ceremony on Sunday 11 August 2024.
“Edward O’Neill was born on 1 April 1920 in Taralga, NSW. Known as Eddie, he was one of 10 children born to Henry and Elizabeth O’Neill,” Australian War Memorial historian Rachel Caines said.
“The family ran a farming property known as Frogmore Estate in the region, and Eddie likely attended school near Taralga.
“On 23 July 1941, aged 21, Eddie enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force in Sydney and underwent training.
“In January 1942, he was taken on strength of the newly formed 2/4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment as a gunner, supporting the Allies’ El Alamein campaign.
“The regiment returned to Australia in February 1943 for five months before departing Cairns for Milne Bay in Papua in early August.
“On 24 September 1943, Gunner Edward O’Neill was killed in action, possibly during a bombing raid on the Regimental Headquarters near Finschhafen. He was 23 years old.
“After the war, his body was reinterred in Lae War Cemetery, and his name is listed on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial.”
The Last Post ceremony is held at 4.30 pm every day except Christmas Day in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial.
Each ceremony shares the story behind one of 103,000 names on the . To date, the Memorial has delivered more than 3,800 ceremonies, each featuring an individual story of service from colonial to recent conflicts. It would take more than 280 years to read the story behind each of the 103,000 names listed on the Roll of Honour.
“The Last Post Ceremony is our commitment to remembering and honouring the legacy of Australian service,” Memorial Director Matt Anderson said.
“Through our daily Last Post Ceremony, we not only acknowledge where and how these men and women died. We also tell the stories of who they were when they were alive, and of the families who loved and, in so many cases, still mourn for them.
“The Last Post is now associated with remembrance but originally it was a bugle call to sound the end of the day’s activities in the military. It is a fitting way to end each day at the Memorial.”
The Last Post Ceremony honouring the service of Gunner Edward Michael John O’Neill will be live streamed to the Australian War Memorial’s YouTube page: .
The stories told at the Last Post Ceremony are researched and written by the Memorial’s military historians, who begin the process by looking at nominal rolls, attestation papers and enlistment records before building profiles that include personal milestones and military experiences.
HANDOUT image:
