WWII Mystery Solved: 6 Solomon Islanders Served Australia

For 80 years, six faces stared out from faded military photographs with no names attached.

These men from the Solomon Islands had been recruited to Australia's Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit during WWII, a shadowy team tasked with catching and killing foreign invaders along the remote northern coast. They served two years in the Australian Army before being quietly sent home in 1944 without any veteran benefits or official recognition.

Now, thanks to a determined research effort by the Australian War Memorial, five of the six soldiers have been identified and their families contacted. For many relatives, the discovery came as a complete shock.

"I was very emotional," said Hilda Rade Kamatarena, whose grandfather Edwin Richardson was among the recruits. "We didn't know he'd been in the army, we just thought he'd been a cook on a ship."

The unit itself was highly unconventional. It comprised mainly Aboriginal warriors from local Yolngu clans who carried spears instead of guns and moved quietly between remote bush camps, living off the land while watching for Japanese invaders.

Six Solomon Islanders were hand-picked to join them in 1942 when Japanese forces were bombing Darwin and Broome. The men trained alongside the Yolngu warriors, learning to distinguish Australian from Japanese aircraft and preparing for guerrilla warfare along the rugged Arnhem Land coast.

The breakthrough came when researchers put out a call on Solomon Islands media with the five surviving photographs. "Do you know these men?" they asked.

The response exceeded all expectations. Within months, families came forward, many seeing their grandfather's face for the first time in photographs showing the young soldiers on parade and relaxing aboard the patrol boat Aroetta.

Why This Inspires

This discovery represents more than just solving a historical puzzle. It's about restoring dignity to men who served a country that forgot them.

"I think these men kind of fell between the cracks, because they were Solomon Islanders, but serving as Australian soldiers," said Major Michael Jones, who helped piece together the unit's history. The families now have questions about why their grandfathers were chosen and why their service was never recognized with the benefits afforded to other veterans.

The research team continues searching for the identity of the sixth soldier, determined that no one who served will be forgotten again.

For the descendants, the discovery has opened up new chapters of family history that were nearly lost forever.