Victory in the Pacific 80th anniversary: Perth veteran Len McKenna reflects on the war and 101 years of life

The walls at Len McKenna’s Claremont home are covered with dozens of framed photographs and paintings; the people and places from a rich and fascinating life spanning 101 years and counting. The joys, the lessons, the tragedies and the adventures are all there. The 74-year-old black and white wedding photo of Len and his “classy” bride Barbara, the fading sepia images of family members who went away to war and didn’t come home, the cheeky smile of the great-granddaughter toddler who was chosen to model for Disney in Japan. When Len says he could point at each picture and spend an hour talking about the person in it, you believe him. It’s these people, he says, that have made his life so full. And when he casts his mind back 82 years ago, when he went off to war at just 18, it is the people that he remembers. “I think about the people who were there with me, the good mates you would do anything for, and who would do anything for me,” he said. “It was wonderful to have those sorts of friendships.” Len and his memories are precious, he is one of about 100 living Second World War veterans in WA. Today, those memories will be shared as he and other vets gather at the State War Memorial in Kings Park to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific (VP) Day. VP Day marks Japan’s surrender and the end of WWII after five years, 11 months and 11 days of fighting. Len was among the nearly one million Australians who served in campaigns in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa and Asia. He was initially exempt from enlisting, due to his job as a laboratory assistant involved in testing materials for warfare. But just as he doggedly pursued an education — attending night classes after leaving school at 13 to support his family by working as a bell boy, florist and painter — he begged his employer to cancel his exemption. After spending four months in the infantry, Len joined the Air Force, training as a wireless operator air gunner in Victoria and graduating as a sergeant in 1944. He then boarded the USS Cape Flattery destined for New York, before joining a large Atlantic convoy of troop ships which docked at Liverpool on May 14. During his time in England Len performed various duties, including staff wireless operator and assistant flying control officer, before joining the Australian 461 Squadron as a gunner, based out of Scotland. Len was in Edinburgh on VP day when emotional, jubilant scenes erupted. “Everyone was celebrating on the streets, dancing and swapping hats with other people, like the Scots Guards. It was a real celebration,” he said. “Just to be among so many people going through the same thing, it was wonderful.” He arrived back in Fremantle in January 1946, but his RAAF serviced continued as a trainee intelligence officer at the University of WA University Squadron, before he joined the active reserve at Pearce Air Force Base. In 1950 he married Barbara, and the couple would have five children and more than 20 grandchildren and great grandchildren. Len threw himself into education, made possible through the government’s ex-servicemen rehabilitation scheme, gaining university entry via Perth Technical College, before studying geology at the University of WA while also studying for his teachers’ higher certificate at Claremont Teachers College. He would eventually complete three bachelor degrees, a graduate diploma, a master’s degree and a doctor of philosophy, and his love of learning and curiosity for the world around him is still evident in his 101st year. Len was one of the first educators at Graylands Teachers’ College, where he would spend “the best 15 years of his life.” His love of gardening — another passion — saw him oversee the rehabilitation of the Graylands site. He and an army of student volunteers transformed the dilapidated army camp into terraced gardens and digging out tennis and basketball courts. While the teachers’ college is long since demolished, a Mt Claremont road, McKenna Glen, remains as a testament to his work. Len was also active in the local conservation movement, serving as president of the WA Naturalist Club and the WA Tree Society, and spending hours soaking up the knowledge of scientists at the WA Museum, which appointed him an Honorable Associate. This love for the natural environment spilled over into creative endeavours; the landscape paintings which hang in his home and a 10-year role hosting Channel 7’s Len McKenna’s Nature Parade, which launched in the first week of TV in WA in 1959. “I’ve had such a wonderful life, so many lovely people,” Len said, while noting his sadness that so many of them, including Barbara who passed away in February aged 98, are no longer here. “That’s the hardest part of the lot,” he said. “But I’ve been so fortunate.”