OUR HEROES – THEIR STORIES

Always affectionately called “pop” by his grandchildren and his greatrandchildren, VX139032 Maxwell Clarence Moon had a carefree growing up in suburban Melbourne.

He was born on November 15, 1925, at Middle Brighton, where he grew up with his father, Albert, mother, Rhoda, three brothers Les, Geoff and Ron, and sister Val.

Max attended Brighton Technical School.
According to his granddaughter, Amy, he enjoyed cycling and getting into mischief with his brothers.

One favourite family story was about the time he and his brothers found a small wooden boat washed up on Brighton beach and decided to launch it. They climbed aboard and paddled around close to shore, except the tide, current and prevailing wind took them across Port Phillip Bay to Williamstown.

They had to walk more than 20 kilometres to get home, where their waiting father was far from pleased.

Like most youngsters Max was keen to get into the fighting when war broke out. He was only 15 when he enlisted, 10 days short of his 16th birthday, and two years short of the official enlistment age of 18. No one now knows how he got away with it but he falsified his age which large numbers of teenagers did so they could join up.

Max put his age up by three years. He gave his birthdate as October 13, 1922, the date shown on his war service record. In fact he was born on November 15,1925. He enlisted on November 11, 1942, and was posted to Darwin with the 5th Battalion Victorian Scottish Regiment Mortar Brigade.

He spoke of his time in Darwin with great fondness, except about the heat and humidity in the wet season. He always roared with laughter when recalling the occasion one night in Darwin when one of the men in his bivvy sat bolt upright and said:“Geez it’s hot in Australia”, then promptly lay back down and was immediately asleep.

Max was stationed in Darwin until June, 1943,when he was called on to join the 2/33rd Battalion, which was in training on the Atherton Tablelands preparing for the attack to recapture Lae from the Japanese.

Max Moon and great grandson, Max.

Max survived the Liberator crash and fought in the 2/33rd’s New Guinea and Borneo campaigns, including Lae, Ramu Valley and Balikpapan.

At Balikpapan, the last action of the war, he suffered a head wound from shrapnel. Amy said: “He used to show all his grandchildren and made us feel the divot in his skull. I believe he liked the shocked look on our faces and the sound we made.”

During the last few months of the war Max served on Morotai Island, in Eastern Indonesia, as well as Balikpapan.

While some long-serving members of the 2/33rd Battalion returned to Australia soon after the Japanese surrender in 1945 Max stayed on at Pontianak during the handover of Borneo back to the Dutch.

Max was discharged on May 28, 1946. He spent a total of 1666 days in the Army.

His Discharge letter noted his height was 5’10-eyes: Blue – hair: red – Complexion: ruddy with Max Moon and great grandson, Max. three small scars on his left knee. The war hadn’t completely left him after his discharge. He suffered a bout of Malaria in 1948.

Max had a successful post-war career, initially employed as a sales representative for Peters stores in Camperdown, Victoria, until 1948, when he moved to Mascot, in Sydney, to work as a Traffic Manager for Butler Air Transport until 1951. He held other sales jobs until 1979 then became Sales Manager for Yale Security until his retirement in 1984.

Amy said he did, however, have a period of moonlighting for the “esteemed” Max Moon security services.

After retiring from full-time employment Max worked part-time for a company that tested toys before they were put onto the market, much to the delight of his grandchildren.

He also worked in the jewellery store of close friend, Ron Davis, repairing watches.

For many years Max worked tirelessly as secretary of the 2/33rd Battalion’s Victorian branch, assisted in the battalion’s work of by his second wife, Verna, whom he married in 1962. Max built and named a fishing boat after her.

Max and Verna lived in Verna’s family home at Hampton for over 40 years before they moved to an apartment in Cheltenham. Max had a long association with Probus as well as the Battalion Association.

Amy said: “Pop was very proud of all of his accomplishments during his long life; and had every right to be. He lived a life of great significance.

“I believe Pop would most like to be remembered for the unconditional love and affection he had for all of his family. He took great joy in engaging with each and every one of us “ He gave us confidence in who we are and our in abilities. Hand-in-hand with Nan he was our greatest role model.”

Amy’s brother, Andrew, remembers Max taking him to see Herbie the Love Bug movies when they came out. However, he believed Max used him as a cover because he wanted to see the movies himself.

Andrew recalled: “When I was much younger Pop called me his cobber. I remember asking him: ‘What is a cobber?’ He told me that it meant you were more than a mate, much more than just a friend. He said you might have lots of mates but you could only ever have a cobber or two.”

“Cobber was a term widely applied by close mates in the Army.” Andrew said: “When Pop was in hospital I was saying goodbye to him one day and said ‘I love you Pop’. He replied: ‘I love you too Cobber’ ”. When he died in October, 2019, aged 93, Max had four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Two more grandchildren have been born since.