The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (VX100093) Lieutenant Robert Henry Sword, 39th Battalion, AIF, Second World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by , the story for this day was on (VX100093) Lieutenant Robert Henry Sword, 39th Battalion, AIF, Second World War.

VX100093 Lieutenant Robert Henry Sword, 39th Battalion, AIF
KIA 9 December 1942

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lieutenant Robert Henry Sword.

Robert Sword was born on 20 February 1914 in Melbourne, the third child of Robert and Vera Sword, and brother to Betty, Bernard and Marjorie. After attaining intermediate level schooling in Melbourne, Robert became a travelling salesman, later securing a management position. By the late 1930s he was living with his parents in the suburb of Box Hill, and was engaged to Kathleen Kerr.

In early 1939, Robert joined the Citizens Military Forces, being allotted to the 6th Battalion, the Royal Melbourne Regiment. By the end of the year he had been promoted to lance sergeant. With a war now on it was important to identify leaders. Robert was promoted to sergeant in July 1940, and attended officers’ class. In February 1941 he was appointed probationary lieutenant. Later in the year he transferred to the 39th Battalion, joining his new unit on 11 October at its encampment near Bacchus Marsh.

The 39th was a Militia battalion raised in Melbourne, mostly consisting of young men, 18 or 19 years old. At 27, Robert likely seemed almost an old man to them. After Japan’s surprise attacks on Malaya and Pearl Harbor in early December 1941, the 39th was sent to Port Moresby in Papua. Robert and his comrades arrived on 3 January 1942. There the battalion performed garrison duties, airfield defence and unloading of stores in the harbour.

After recovering from a bout of dysentery, followed by malaria, on 23 August Robert rejoined his battalion. By this time it had been in action for almost a month, locked in a bitter struggle with Japanese forces advancing along the Kokoda Trail.

On 26 August the battalion was falling back from Deniki to Isurava. Lieutenant Robert Sword took his platoon forward to support the battalion’s advanced patrol which was in heavy contact. Outnumbered, the men were forced to make a fighting withdrawal, delaying the enemy as best they could. That night, outflanked and now cut-off from their comrades, the remnants of the two platoons had to climb an adjoining ridge and head into the jungle to avoid capture.

After three days, the men, led by Lieutenant Sword managed to re-join friendly troops near the village of Alola. Despite their emaciated condition, when they learned that their comrades were fighting for their lives up the track at Isurava, they moved out to re-join their mates. Isurava was the 39th Battalion’s finest hour.

Another four weeks of bitter fighting saw the Australians pushed further back along the trail until they reached Imita Ridge. There the tide turned and the Japanese, at the limit of their endurance, began their withdrawal at the end of September. Over the next two months the Australians pursued them back over the Owen Stanley Range to Papua’s north coast.

The men of the 39th Battalion had suffered the brunt of the early Japanese onslaught and were given a well-earned rest for several weeks out of the line. But at the end of November they were needed again, as the Japanese defended coastal enclaves at Buna, Gona and Sanananda. The 39th Battalion helped capture Gona village on 6 December, then advanced on the nearby mission. Australian units had once more suffered heavy casualties and were low in numbers. But they pressed on, sensing enemy resistance would soon crack.

On 8 December the Australians attacked after a heavy supporting bombardment. Robert’s A Company crept close to the Japanese positions and were able to rush them before the bombardment ceased. Having killed many enemy soldiers and captured four machine-guns, A Company’s breach allowed C and D Companies to exploit further. By nightfall they held much of the enemy perimeter and all of the defended area in the centre. Many more enemy were killed as they tried to escape during the night.

Mopping up began in the early morning of 9 December. Lieutenant Sword’s platoon occupied the huts in the mission area, and began clearing the surrounding pits. The men continued clearing out pockets of enemy resistance until they reached the beach. As they cleared the last enemy post, Lieutenant Robert Sword was shot and killed. His men quickly avenged his death, completing the final act of their mission.

Sword was buried in the field at Gona, his remains were later removed to the war cemetery at Soputa. Finally, he was laid to rest in the Bomana War Cemetery near Port Moresby. He was 28 years old.

His name is also listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Lieutenant Robert Henry Sword, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Craig Tibbitts
Historian, Military History Section