LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Ronald Whiteside MUNRO
Service No: 405641
Born: Brisbane QLD, 10 October 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 27 April 1941
Unit: No. 75 Squadron
Died: Air Operations: (No. 75 Squadron Kittyhawk aircraft A29-48), near Port Moresby, 2 May 1942, Aged 19 Years
Buried: Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery PNG
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Alan Whiteside Munro and Minnie Beryl Munro, of Indooroopilly, Queensland.
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 104, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 2 May 1942, Kittyhawk A29-48 flown by Sergeant Munro was one of three aircraft which took off from Port Moresby at 0730 hours to intercept enemy fighters. Aircraft from Nos. 35 and 36 Squadrons USAAC also took off to intercept the enemy. The Kittyhawk formation was attacked by 10 to 15 Zeros north-west of the aerodrome, and Flight Sergeant Robert William Crawford DFC (O22647) (Discharged: 19 December 1953) later stated in his report that Sergeant Munro in A29-48 was shot down, the aircraft spinning and burning. Australian Army authorities searched and found the wreck of the aircraft.
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 163/146/124
Bibliography:
Ilbery, P.L.T. (Peter Leslie Thomas) (422957) Hatching an Air Force: 2SFTS, 5SFTS, 1BFTS Uranquinty and Wagga Wagga, Banner Books Maryborough QLD 4650, 2002