The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (VX103115) Lance Corporal Dennis Hackett, 39th Battalion, 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 (VX103115) Lance Corporal Dennis Hackett, 39th Battalion, Second World War.

VX103115 Lance Corporal Dennis Hackett, 39th Battalion
KIA 13 August 1942

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lance Corporal Dennis Hackett.

Dennis Hackett was born on 17 May 1915 in the Melbourne suburb of Narre Warren, the son of Arthur and Ellen Hackett.

By the time of the Second World War, Hackett was living with his parents in Jeetho, a small Victorian town in South Gippsland, where he worked as a cheesemaker.

In March 1941, 26-year-old Dennis Hackett enlisted in the Militia and joined the 52nd Battalion, consisting of men recruited between Caulfield, Dandenong and Gippsland. In this early part of his service, Hackett and his battalion remained in Australia, undertaking garrison duties.

In October, Hackett transferred to the newly raised 39th Battalion. The battalion had been raised that month to relieve the Queensland-based 49th Battalion, which was serving as a garrison force around Port Moresby. Battalion headquarters was opened near Bacchus Marsh, and on 10 October, the first draft of nine officers and about 500 men, including Hackett, assembled at Caulfield Racecourse Transit Camp and were transported by rail to Darley Camp.

On 21 November, after parading through the streets of Melbourne, the battalion was declared ready for training.

On 7 and 8 December, the Japanese attacked the US fleet at Pearl Harbor and the British in Malaya, Two days later the battalion was ordered to prepare to move as it was mobilised for war service. The battalion’s training was cut short; it had only been able to undertake one training exercise, known as the Battle of Corangamite.

With the threat of invasion by the Japanese, the 39th Battalion joined the 49th and 53rd Battalions to form the 30th Brigade, and plans were made for the formation to deploy to New Guinea. Christmas Day 1941 was spent in camp, before the men were loaded onto two trains for a rapid move north.

During this period, Hackett was found absent without leave, and was confined to barracks for eight days as punishment. Regardless, he arrived with his comrades in Sydney on 27 December 1941, and they made their way to Woolloomooloo Wharf where they boarded the passenger ship Aquitania, bound for New Guinea.

Hackett and his comrades arrived in Moresby in early January 1942, after little military training. In March, Hackett again fell foul of military discipline, charged with disobeying a lawful command and fined as punishment. This did not prevent his promotion to lance corporal in April, however.

Until this point, Lance Corporal Hackett and his comrades had mostly been involved in garrison duties and working parties. In June, however, they were ordered to proceed up the Kokoda Trail to block any Japanese overland advance. B Company and troops from the Papuan Infantry Battalion reached Kokoda on 15 July. Japanese forces landed at Gona, on the north coast of Papua, a week later and quickly moved inland. Around this time, Hackett enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, remaining with his unit, but now free to serve outside Australia and its territories.

The first clash with Japanese troops occurred at Awala on 23 July, after which the Australians fell back to Kokoda. Towards the end of July the Japanese attacked Kokoda and the Australians were forced to withdraw to Deniki. On 8 August the 39th Battalion launched a counter-attack; outnumbered and short of ammunition, the men fell back to Deniki after two days of fighting. The Australians eventually managed to repel the ongoing Japanese attack. Falling back to Isurava on 14 August, however, they were not joined by Lance Corporal Dennis Hackett, who had been killed in action the day before.

Today, he is commemorated at the Port Moresby Memorial.

His name is 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 Lance Corporal Dennis Hackett, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section