Dr Carol Glover
EDWARD (‘Ted’) Thomas McKenzie (1928-2012) put his life on the line for his country, quite literally, when he enlisted to help defend from further incursions by North Korean and Chinese forces, the 38th parallel that to this day divides North and South Korea.
He had already served in the Citizens’ Military Forces at Sale from 1948 to 1951.
But one February day in 1952 while working at the Yallourn open cut as a machine operator, Ted decided to go to Melbourne with his good mate Ron Newton and join the regular army.
Their Sale friend and Yallourn work mate, Johnny Hunt, had recently joined, so they agreed, “well, we might as well join the bloody army too”.