39th Battalion Association

Formed in haste from disparate Victorian militia (home defence) elements in October-November 1941, initially officered (except for platoon commanders) by World War I veterans, its ranks largely composed of 18-19 year old boys armed with World War I weapons and designated for a passive garrison role in Australian administered Papua, the 39th Battalion was, in the full sense of the term, a ‘scratch’ unit. Just three weeks after the devastating aero-naval attack against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbour, the battalion, together with other equally ‘scratch’ elements of the 30th Brigade, embarked on the Aquitania for Port Moresby, where it was to fulfil a much more significant and historic role than was ever contemplated at the time of its formation.