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-and 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.
