Rare Korean War medal donated to memorial
By Penny McLintock
Posted Fri Jan 22, 2010 3:22pm AEDT 
Updated Fri Jan 22, 2010 4:33pm AEDT 


Honour: Guy Beange Jnr says it is a privilege to have is father's medals on show in the AWM. (ABC News : Penny McLintock )

A rare medal issued to an Australian pilot during the Korean War has been donated to the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in Canberra.
Lieutenant Guy Beange (later Commander Beange) was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1952 for flying Sea Fury
aircraft from HMAS Sydney during the war. 
HMAS Sydney served in Korea between October 1951 and January 1952, with pilots flying hundreds of sorties. 
AWM curator Nick Fletcher says Commander Beange was one of only three Royal Australian Navy pilots to receive the award in the conflict. 
"You can understand that with only three ever awarded for airmen in Korea they are very, very rare indeed," he said. 
"To be honest we never thought we would be lucky enough to see one, so we were very very pleased when it was offered.
"These medals are rarer than the Victoria Cross." 
Mr Fletcher says it is a very significant donation. 
"It's also important for what it represents. It's an important recognition of the service of naval aviators in Korea," he said. 
"Korea is widely considered to be a forgotten war so anything relating to Korea is important. But the role of the Fleet Air Arm is often overlooked."
Born in New Zealand, Beange served in the NZ army during World War II.
He later joined the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve and trained as a carrier pilot in England and the United States. 
In 1948 he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy and was posted to 808 Squadron on HMAS Sydney. 
He later became a commander and was posted to a number of shore-based positions before retiring in 1979. He died in 2004. 
Commander Beange's 13 medals - including the Distinguished Service Cross - are now on display in the AWM's aircraft hall beside a Sea Fury. 
His son, Guy Beange Jnr, says it is an honour to have the medals on show. 
"It's a connection to history. These people like Dad went to war and put their life on the line. He was shot at. He was bombing and using cannon against the enemy," he said. 
"He went through it all. He had to cope with flack and being shot at.
"It is a real privilege to have Dad's medals on display here and it's pride for our whole family.
"And it's also a strength, a subtle strength that flows on to his family."
Tags: libraries-museums-and-galleries, history, act, canberra-2600 







    Aircraft
    Carriers

    
 HMAS Sydney (III) August 1951 - February 1952 & October 1953 - June 1954.
 HMAS Vengeance October - December 1954.

    Destroyers

    
 HMAS Arunta January - October 1954.
 HMAS Anzac August - October 1951 & September 1952 - June 1953.
 HMAS Bataan June 1950 - June 1951 & January - September 1952.
 HMAS Tobruk August 1951 - February 1952 & June 1953 - February 1954.
 HMAS Warramunga August 1950 - August 1951 & January - August 1952.

    Frigates

    
 HMAS Culgoa March - November 1953.
 HMAS Condamine July 1952 - November 1953 & February - November 1955.
 HMAS Murchison May 1951 - February 1952 & November 1953 - July 1954.
 HMAS Shoalhaven June - September 1950 & July 1954 - March 1955.


    Air
    Squadrons

    
 No. 805 & 808 Squadrons (Hawker Sea Fury FB 11)
 August 1951 - February 1952 & October 1953 - June 1954.

 No. 817 Squadron (Fairey Firefly AS)
 August 1951 - February 1952 & October 1953 - June 1954.

 
Signalman on board the destroyer HMAS
Bataan, sends a signal using the 10-inch
signalling lamp.

 Ratings of HMAS Warramunga loading shells from a US
supply ship whilst the two vessels lie in anchor off the
North Korea coast in 1952.

 
The frigate HMAS Murchison was active in
Korea waters frpm May 1951 to January 1952.

 
The flight deck of HMAS Sydney (III) as the carrier's
Sikorski S-51 search & rescue helicopter, borrowed
from the US Navy, lands after the day's flying.

 
H.M.A.S. SYDNEY  R.A.S.                                                      H.M.A.S. ANZAC

 
H.M.A.S. CONDAMINE                                               H.M.A.S. MURCHISON
 
H.M.A.S. WARRAMUNGA  R.A.S                                                H.M.A.S. BATAAN
 
H.M.A.S. SHOALHAVEN                                                     H.M.A.S. TOBRUK
 
H.M.A.S. CULGOA                                    On board with Typhoon RUTH