Meet World War II veteran Russ Muir, who was the eyes and ears of the sky as he helped keep Australia safe during the war.
The brave digger, a resident at Uniting AgeWell’s Hawthorn Community, was happy to share the story of his long life, spent serving his country as a fighter pilot and later on in supervising the building of dams and roads, and teaching others how to build them.
Russ completed school at Essendon High at the age of 16 and signed up for the army in 1942. He recalls it was just after the Japanese Midget Submarine attack on Sydney Harbour, and a lot of young men were stirred up and wanting to take up arms.
Young Russ was trained to be a pilot and flew a little twin engine aircraft, the Tiger Moss, up and down the coast as the eyes and ears of the sky. He used to fly as far as Lord Howe Island. Signing up was a brave thing to do, given the horrors of his father’s WWI experience where he was caught and suffered the effects of gas, which shortened his life.
When the war in Europe was over, Russ transferred to the Aerodrome in East Sale to train as an air gunner on the E24 Liberator – a four engine bomber.
After the war he went back to his birthplace, Moonee Ponds where he met Betty (Elizabeth), a Kiwi, who worked in insurance and was on a nine-month placement in Melbourne. By the time she returned, he was smitten.
The dashing young pilot was never going to have a ho-hum courtship! He saved up enough money and drove to Sydney in his sports car, put the car on the boat and headed over the ditch to see her. They were married the next day, honeymooned for a week in Wellington and sailed back to Sydney. Mission accomplished!
They had three children – the youngest of whom lives opposite him and visits him at Hawthorn Community every day.
His career was busy – he was a cadet engineer, and then joined the SEC of Victoria. He spent the rest of his life supervising the building of dams and roads – with the Snowy Mountains Authority (dams and roads); working for the Australian Government in Thailand where he taught the Tai people how to build roads, and for the Irrigation Commission of NSW (supervising the building of dams.)
Sadly Betty died of lung cancer.
Russ, who has 17 great-grandchildren, is hugely proud of serving his country.