Bombardier Barry Algar, a husband and father, was just 27 when he lost his life while serving with the Australian Army overseas.
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But the military force in which he served has gone unknown and unrecognised by most Australians: the Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve.
His daughter, Wollongong woman Vicki Tiegs, has joined forces with men who also served in the reserve in their fight to achieve due recognition for their service more than 50 years ago - a memorial within the grounds of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Australia and New Zealand were involved in two conflicts under the Far East Strategic Reserve.
The first was the Malayan Emergency, which began in 1948 when three British plantation managers were killed by members of the Malayan Communist Party
It sparked 12 years of fighting between the pro-independence Malayan National Liberation Army and British forces, a conflict into which Australia was drawn in 1950, although then-Prime Minister Robert Menzies would not formally announce involvement in the Far East Strategic Reserve until 1955.
The Konfrontasi, or Indonesian Confrontation, came in 1963 when Indonesia opposed the formation of Malaysia, which President Sukarno viewed as a British attempt to maintain control in the region.
Thirty-nine Australians lost their lives during the Malayan Emergency which lasted until 1960, and a further 29 died in the three and a half years of the Konfrontasi.
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Veterans believe the reason why the contributions of those who served in these two conflicts remain unfamiliar to most is partly because neither were officially a war.
Brian Selby, who was in the same unit as Barry Algar, said the British government would not declare the Malayan Emergency a war. This was because, Mr Selby said, the insurers of the large rubber companies and tyre manufacturers would not pay for damage sustained by the plantations during acts of war.
Politics was another reason, he said.
When the Konfrontasi began Australia was forced into a delicate position between its geographical neighbour and the Commonwealth.
It was during the Konfrontasi, while on his second tour of duty, that Barry Algar died from injuries sustained when he was thrown from a truck at an airbase near Penang, in September 1964.
Ms Tiegs was just six months old when her father was killed. She doesn't remember her father, but she has heard stories of him as someone who was "a bit of a character" and "loved a drink with his mates".
He came from a family with a strong military background - his father, uncle and grandfather had all served - and he played basketball with a team of servicemen known as the Wallabies.
Ms Tiegs' aunt, Barry's sister, has told her about how her dad loved to play with his baby daughter, who inherited his thick blonde hair with the cowlick at the front.
Because Barry did not die in a declared war, Ms Tiegs said, his widow Jan was not entitled to a war widow's pension or the other benefits the bereaved wives of servicemen in other conflicts would have received.
Growing up, Ms Tiegs said she did not realise things were tough because her mother worked hard to ensure they had what they needed, but looking back she could appreciate the struggles her mother faced.
She believes establishing a memorial marking the service of those in the Far East Strategic Reserve will bring some closure to her mum.
Mrs Algar was not allowed to see her husband off when he embarked on his second tour of duty, and was advised not to view his body when he was brought home to Australia.
"Even to this day, she is still impacted by the fact she didn't really get to say goodbye," Ms Tiegs said.
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It wasn't until 2014 that Barry and another man Stephen Danks, who died in January 1965, were added to the Australian War Memorial's Roll of Honour.
"I know the impact seeing his name on the roll of honour at the Australian War Memorial had on [my mother]," Ms Tiegs said.
She said she wanted to see a memorial established so that veterans and their loved ones knew their service was recognised and valued, and to educate the public about the Far East Strategic Reserve and the conflicts in which it was involved.
"I think for me also, it'll be a little bit of closure in getting it done, getting the recognition done," Ms Tiegs said.
Les Bailey served in Malaya with the Navy, and is now president of the Far East Strategic Reserve War Memorial Foundation.
Having a memorial built, he said, would be a "bit of personal pride".
"We're not looking at anything massive, but we'd just like it to be respectful," Mr Bailey said.
But the time the project is taking is a concern.
He said the foundation was told it needed to raise more money than originally instructed to get the project started, and the Australian War Memorial expansion had only pushed it back further.
"Most of our blokes are in their 70s and 80s. They're not going to be hanging around too much longer," Mr Bailey said.
Mr Selby said it was disgraceful and frustrating that his service and that of others had gone without recognition for so long.
"For 55 years, we've been ignored, and unfortunately, probably more than half of the men who were engaged in that campaign have passed on," he said.
A spokesperson from the Australian War Memorial said the organisation had been working with the foundation for some time on a commemorative sculpture, which was slated for the Sculpture Garden.
"It's anticipated the FESR project will soon be able to commence the design phase of the sculpture to be considered by the Memorial Council," the spokesperson said.
"The concept design phase for the FESR memorial will not begin until 2024."
The spokesperson said the time it took to fundraise and the start of the AWM's expansion had affected the memorial project.
Ms Tiegs said there were "amazing and extraordinary" people working at the Memorial and noted the commitment of its former head, Dr Brendan Nelson, to ensuring the recognition of service men and women.
Despite having raised tens of thousands of dollars to get the memorial project off the ground, the Far East Strategic Reserve Memorial Foundation will need to continue raising more money to bring the memorial to fruition.
For more information on the memorial or how to contribute, visit fesrmemorial.org.au.