Luke is joined by Andrew Hastie MP, Liberal Member for Canning & Shadow Minister for Defence about the discovery of SS Montevideo Maru shipwreck.

The War Memorial has long listed the final resting place of Private Neill Ross Callaghan, Mr Hastie’s great uncle, as being “Known unto God,” leaving his family with no closure. 

However, the recent discovery of the SS Montevideo Maru shipwreck has shed new light on the fate of Neill and his fellow soldiers. 

The ship was sunk on July 1, 1942, and lies 4,000 meters beneath Philippine waters, 110 km northwest of Luzon, where Neill and 1,395 other Australians were aboard when it was torpedoed and sunk by the USS Sturgeon.  There are no known survivors. 

Neill’s disappearance and the ship’s sinking had always been a source of deep pain for Mr Hastie’s family, and the discovery of his final resting place brings a sense of closure and peace to them, and many other families across Australia.

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