Fighting for Country

The story of Captain Reginald Saunders MBE, Australia's first Indigenous commissioned officer, a true leader who served with daring and distinction in World War II and Korea, as told by his nephew James Saunders.


'As a life-long soldier, I can assert the vibrancy and value of legends - battles, places and always, people. Reg Saunders was such a legend - courageous, inspirational and much admired by all who served alongside or under him. By the way, he was an extraordinary Australian, a true emblem for the future. Thank you, James Saunders!' - Peter Cosgrove


'Reg Saunders was a true pioneer, a courageous defender of this nation and his people, and a powerful advocate for Indigenous Australians. In Fighting for Country, Reg's nephew James Saunders brings the journey of a Gunditjmara warrior vividly to life.' - Rachel Perkins


'This book is long overdue, and wonderfully executed.' - Peter FitzSimons 


April 1940: Reginald Saunders, a 19-year-old Gunditjmara man, walks into the enlistment office in Milltown, Victoria, following in the footsteps of his father 24 years earlier. It's the beginning of an extraordinary journey of service and adventure for Reg - a journey that will take him across three continents and two wars. He will be decorated, discriminated against, wounded, bereaved, forsaken - but ultimately victorious.


Captain Reg Saunders had, by any measure, an exceptional military career, serving with distinction in North Africa, Greece and New Guinea during World War II, and later in the Korean War. His exploits - including surviving on the run from the Nazis in Crete for eleven months and leading a company of soldiers against a massive Chinese force in the pivotal Battle of Kapyong - have become part of Australian Army folklore.


Fighting for Country is more than the story of Reg's military career: it is also the story of his family and his people, the Fighting Gunditjmara of Western Victoria, and of Reg's postwar life of struggle and service. James Saunders, Reg's nephew, has drawn on military archives and family records to bring this incredible story vividly to life.