KUCHING: Commando Semut Operation, undertaken by the Z Special Unit on May 25, 1945 during World War II in Bario, was one of the most important events that has shaped the history of the Sarawak, according to an Australian war veteran.
Jack Tredrea, a 93-year-old retired warrant officer from South Australia and the only surviving member of the unit, said that the landing was a significant step by the Allied forces against the Japanese army in Borneo during the war.
“Back then, Bario was an ideal place for the attack as it was a low key and unassuming place to for us to be in,” he said when
relating his war experience during the Bicara Warisan, organised by the Sarawak Museum, here yesterday, on the secret Semut Operation.
That historic day when he parachuted down to the plains of Bario, off the plane in the early hours of the morning, he recalled being pleasantly surprised by the warm reception received from the locals there.
Following the first landing, more than 80 operations were carried out with the help of more than 2,000 indigenous people, including the Kelabits, Ibans and Penan, who killed more than 1,846 Japanese soldiers, he said. — Bernama